The Brave May Fall
by figurefour
Summary: Three years after the end of the manga, Kasumi Tendo investigates what really happened in the war that cost her family so much. With her faithful companion Shirokuro, they travel in search of the two missing boys that saved them all and became legends.
1. Prologue

I could only watch in fascinated horror.

The massive tornado of blue energy ripped apart buildings and homes like they were not even there. So much wood and stone and dirt swirled around the column of angry wind, threatening to pull in the clouds themselves. The might of the Hiryu Shoten Ha, the Rising Dragon Ascension, was always a sight to behold even when Ranma had just learned the technique. But now, the power of the maelstrom he had conjured was devastating. The remains of the buildings, or rather lack thereof, was evidence enough.

The final nail in the coffin was a green ball. The column of bright viridian ki that shot into the sky moments ago had finished collecting above the dark clouds, and they burned away as it approached. Ryoga had always been powerful, just like Ranma, but there was no way anyone could have known that the power he could unleash was so… awe inspiring. The orb fell back down to earth like a dying star, and met the swirling tornado. I couldn't watch what happened next, to see three thousand years of Amazon history obliterated in an instant. But I felt the shockwave, heard the roar.

When I opened my eyes there was a wasteland before me, and the battlefield had frozen. Amazon, Musk, Phoenix, it didn't matter who they were fighting moments ago. The mass of people around me, wounded and bloody as they were, cheered. Even the dying girl in my arms whimpered in triumph with what little strength she had left. I could see the tears of joy in her eyes.

The destruction of the Amazon Capital of Joketsuzoku marked the turning point in the war.

My name is Kasumi Tendo, and this is what happened.


	2. It Always Starts With a Scroll

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½ in any capacity. All associated characters, locations, gimmicks, and curses are property of Rumiko Takahashi.

**Chronology:** The _Present_ takes place three years after the end of the manga, and the "Jusenkyo Conflict" in China has more-or-less officially ended.

A/N at the end with (*#) explanations. Ctrl + F if you can't wait.

* * *

**The Brave May Fall  
**by figurefour

**Chapter 1:** It Always Starts With a Scroll

_"Either I shall find a way, or I shall make one"_

_- Hannibal_

I scratched the black and white dog behind her ears, and I couldn't help but smile when she pushed her head into my hand. While I would never leash Shirokuro (*1), and as smart and obedient as she was, there's just no way they would let her into the hospital. So she was left standing watch outside the hospital doors, much like a Japanese guardian statue. It was a poor way to treat a war hero. The black and white dog fought and killed right next to her master, who's black and yellow bandanna was tied around the canine's neck.

I looked up at the looming building before me. Nerima General Hospital: Psychiatric Ward. It was time to conduct my first interview, and no one knew better how it all started than grandfather Happosai.

Walking in, I paid no mind to the labyrinthine halls of the hospital; they were familiar paths I've walked before. Not that I would have needed to know my way around to find Happosai. Among all of the people in the hospital, no one had a ki signature quite like a Grand Master martial artist. His energy was akin to an inferno, making everyone else seem like flickering candles in comparison, myself included. Ki detection. I took a moment to marvel at the improvements I've managed to make over the years, when I started taking my training seriously again.

Finally I made it to his room. All along the door frame were paper wards to prevent him from escaping, as well as explicit signs in three languages not to take the wards off. Happosai had them especially made to respond only to him. It was the prison and coffin he chose for himself; at least, after his first few rather destructive outbursts.

I stopped outside of the door and looked in through the small window made with bullet resistant glass. Looking inside I could see the old withered man that was so full of life only a few years ago. He was so different then. He was sitting up in his plain white hospital bed with his eyes closed. Not that he could open them, with the scars running diagonally all along his face and eyes. He was puffing away on his old pipe with his right hand, his left no longer anything more than a bandaged stump. Smoking was one of the few joys the old man had left, and so the hospital staff made some adjustments for him.

I knocked softly on the door and let myself in.

"Grandfather Happosai?" I asked rather meekly, moving closer to the bed. I could never guess what kind of mood he was in anymore.

He seemed happy, for which I was relieved. "Ah Kasumi-chan! What brings you all the way from China to visit an old man like me? You and that dog anyway."

He had known Shirokuro was here? I couldn't help but ask. "You knew I brought her with me?"

"Of course!" He took a puff from his pipe. I crinkled my nose at the smell. "You and even the mutt have stronger ki than all of the weaklings around here. I knew the moment you were outside of the hospital. Now, as lovely as it is to… see you again, why are you here?"

I involuntarily shivered slightly as his voice took on a harder tone. As much as I didn't like to think about it, I knew no one visited him here. I'm probably the first guest he's had all year other than the hospital staff. It made feel rather me sad for him.

"I don't know if you knew, grandfather, but I'm writing a book."

He paused for a second and looked t me. Even with his scarred eyes, I felt like he was staring right through me. "On the war I suppose."

"That's right. I think… it's a story that needs to be told."

"History is always written by the victor, Kasumi-chan. Who's the victor in your book?"

"Everyone. And no one. I'm collecting perspectives, grandfather Happosai. I was hoping I could start with yours."

He laughed, loud and boisterous. I didn't think he could even laugh like that anymore. "So you want me to tell you what I think about the war?"

"I want you to tell me your part in it. From what I gather, you're the only one who was with Cologne that day, and the only one who knew what she was doing."

"I suppose I could tell you what happened."

I pulled out the micro recorder from my messenger bag and turned it on.

"As you know," he began. "Cologne and I have some history."

* * *

**Three Years Ago**

**Nekohanten**

The diminutive Master of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts walked down the stairs that led to the basement of the infamous Cat Café. The basement consisted of a single room with a concrete floor, and cinder block walls that were lined with shelves of food and restaurant supplies. The single hanging light bulb was the only source of illumination except for a small window that lit up a corner of the room with a shaft of bright moonlight.

Standing in front of a small desk between two shelves was what he was looking for: Cologne. Just looking at her he could tell that she was focused intently on whatever it was she was doing. He tiptoed around her, as silent as only a master martial artist and professional panty thief could be. He sneaked behind the wizened old woman and… deflated. Cologne had never worn any undergarments worth stealing in the last few decades.

"Stop breathing on me. You smell like garlic from the dumplings you stole upstairs."

"What did you want to see me about?" Happosai asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.

Cologne finally took her eyes off what was on the desk and looked at the little man next to her. Fixing him with a serious look, she said "I wanted to talk to you about the scroll."

Happosai smirked. "That's what I thought. Mind if I smoke in here?"

"Fine, but crack the window. I don't want you ruining our supplies with that smoke just because a certain martial artist I know doesn't have the discipline to put away that pipe."

"Aww you're too hard on me Lonlon."

"Don't call me that!" Cologne tried to sound angry, but it just came out tired. It was an old thing between them that she didn't want to deal with. Not now. "I wanted to talk to you about something important."

"So talk, Lon-chan."

Cologne pulled out one of the spare chairs that they kept in case they needed extras in the main restaurant, and Happosai did likewise. "I wanted to ask you Happi, what are you planning on doing once we finish preparing the scroll?"

The old puffed on his pipe and blew out a few crisp smoke rings. "I've given it some thought. Maybe I'll really take the reins of my school since my students obviously can't handle the job. Genma and Soun are idiots despite the fact I let them create their own branches of the school. They genuinely deserved it when they took the art seriously, but now… and while Ranma is good without a doubt, he has no respect for his elders. He's the only one who's got the stones to stand up to me though, gotta give credit where it's due. But hey, if you get him married off to Shampoo then both our problems are solved. Where are those two anyway?"

"I sent the children on some errands. They won't be back for quite awhile."

"So we have the place all to ourselves then?" A sly wink.

"Happi!"

"Fine! Just joking. Anyway, I'll probably travel around and scout for some prospective students and expand the school. Maybe I should groom a rival for Ranma. Oh, I should take the Hibiki boy under my wing! How furious would Ranma be then!" Happosai leaned back in the chair and just imagined it: a large dojo with a respectable name. A martial artist of Ranma's caliber could carry the worth of Anything Goes on his shoulders. But imagine if he had a whole school of martial artists as talented as Ranma and Ryoga! Why, he could shake the very foundations of the martial artist community. The only thing that stopped him from doing it was time. Every day he got just a little bit older, a little bit weaker. But soon he would have all the time he needed.

"Why do you ask Lon-chan?"

This time Cologne sighed, shaking her head. "You still think so small Happi."

"Hmm?"

"The _real _Sacred Scroll of the Seven Lucky Gods (*2) is in our hands, and all you can think about is your school? How self-centered and short sighted can you be? With time on our side there's so much we can accomplish! Is that really… all you want Happi?" This time Cologne actually seemed agitated with him, and Happosai was a bit unnerved by it.

"Wait, what? Now hold on Colog-" Happosai was interrupted as the woman continued talking.

"But me, there is just so much that I need to do. The Amazons are weak! In three thousand years of our history, we have always been a force to be reckoned with. Far and wide men would sing about the Amazon's feats of strength and valor. Chinese warlords and generals would pay tribute to us! But not any longer. Times of war and conflict are gone and all of the girls in the villages have become weak. Weak! The Chinese Amazons! They don't deserve to be called warriors. At least, not yet. They will be the mightiest women on earth when I'm done with them."

Happosai sat frozen in his chair. He literally could not even remember the last time he had seen Cologne so worked up over anything. He was equally unnerved that it was about her own people, as her opinion of the Amazons was one of the subjects they tended not to broach.

"If you and your school is all you're going to accomplish with your second chance, then maybe it's a good thing." Cologne said, barely a whisper once she had finished her rant.

The old master took a puff to shake off the shock before responding, not to mention buying him a few seconds really think about what she had said. "What is a good thing, Lon-chan?"

Cologne stood from her chair and grasped the gnarled wooden cane that had been her companion for so long. "I'm sorry Happi."

"Sorry for… what-" Happosai completely lost focus on what he was trying to say when his vision blurred and it felt like there were dead weights attached to his limbs. He felt the pipe fall from his fingers and he could feel his mouth drying up rapidly. "The… dumplings."

"That's right. I poisoned them."

Happosai fell to his knees and his hand flew into his tunic to grasp the bra he kept there to charge up in case of emergencies. He concentrated and let his ki expand within his body, speeding up and enhancing his own defenses against whatever substance Cologne had cooked into the dumplings. His vision was starting to clear, but his body still felt like lead. He had to keep her talking.

"W-why?" Was all the old man managed to gasp out.

"Because I broke the final seal on the Sacred Scroll. The secret is mine, Happi. Mine alone."

A look of shocked hurt crossed Happosai's face. And then fury. Together they tracked it all across China to the Nekonron province. Together they put the plan together to steal it and get away clean. Together they spent decades working to break the seals on that damned Seven Lucky Gods Sacred Scroll! And now that the final seal was broken, she was keeping the secret for herself?

This scroll that their entire history together was based around was finally ready to be used, and she betrayed him for it. With a deafening battle cry, Happosai the Master of the Anything-Goes Martial Arts, set his ki ablaze.

The concussive blast from Happosai's explosive release of angry crimson ki sent his chair crashing into a wall and most of the items on the shelves went flying. Only Cologne withstood the blast with her own shield of yellow energy. Happosai snatched up his pipe and charged the woman, his withered body protesting fiercely.

Happosai's ki-infused pipe was a powerful weapon in his hands, capable of smashing a tree in half or crushing concrete in a single blow. But so was Cologne's cane. Dozens of blows crossed the space between them in the blink of an eye and the air tore between them. For every sweeping strike that Happosai sent her way she countered with her deadly walking implement. The Amazon elder was more than happy to oblige him and play defensive while the poison did its work.

The perverted thief knew he was in trouble. His arms felt like they were trapped in spider webs holding him back, and the pipe was quickly becoming too heavy to hold. He was fairly resistant to most poisons even without his ability to manipulate ki, but it seemed like whatever Cologne cooked up for him was made of sterner stuff. His mouth was so dry that it hurt to breathe.

In a desperate move, Happosai reached behind him and formed a cluster of small bombs, tossing them at the Amazon.

"Happo Daikarin!" He threw the handful of glorified fireworks at Cologne who merely scoffed in amusement.

Calling out her own battle cry, Cologne's right arm blurred with the cane in her hand.

"Amaguriken!" Using the ki-sharpened tip of her cane, she severed the fuses off of the flying fire crackers and they fell harmlessly around her. "You're going to have to do better th-"

_KABOOM!_

A massive explosion rocked the entire building and shattered the glass of the surrounding shops. Happosai found himself flying through the air, hopping across rooftops as fast as he could. That woman was so concerned about her little ramen shop that she would immediately try to neutralize anything explosive he threw at her. While Cologne was distracted by his smaller Happo Fire Burst bombs, he dropped a much larger one behind himself and flew out of the basement window as fast as he possibly could.

Breathing in a lung full of fresh air to help keep him awake, he was slightly disappointed there weren't more people crowding the streets wondering what that explosion was. The moon was high overhead and provided the perfect amount of light and shadow for his escape. At least, it would have been perfect if he was raiding tonight, instead of being poisoned and chased by his oldest cohort.

He hated to take a page out of Genma's book, but the Saotome Ultimate Technique seemed appropriate at a time like this. At least, that was the plan before he heard the sound of shredding air behind him. Happosai crouched and rolled on the roof he was currently running on just in time before a hail of chopsticks embedded themselves in the tiles.

"You won't escape from me Happi!"

Happosai gave out a triumphant laugh at seeing Cologne with her white hair singed and soot covering most of her face. He could tell just from looking that she wasn't really hurt. There was no way he would outrun her while still affected by the drug, so he held his ground and faced her hoping to stall.

"I guess you're right Lonlon." Cologne glared at the name. It wasn't much, but Happosai took it as a tiny victory. "But let me ask you this: in this Amazonian future of yours where you're young, beautiful and strong again, what happens to Ranma?

Cologne took a second to consider his words. "Worried about your precious heir, Happi? Don't worry, I won't hurt him… depending on how he wants to be involved. Shampoo could simply marry the male to bring him into the fold, which would be the best course of action. If Shampoo isn't enough I could always marry him myself." The elder put her hand over her mother and did an eerily accurate impression of Kodachi's laugh.

"Or we could make him a part of our breeding program. At least he'll have more choic- ahem, variety that way."

Happosai looked aghast. "You have a breeding program? And didn't include me! I'm hurt Lon-chan."

"Ha! As if I'd let you and your cursed bloodline taint our noble Amazon stock. But no, we don't have a breeding program. Yet."

"It looks like you really do have a plan for the rest of the Amazons. So is this truly how it ends? Not even one peek at the scroll?" They had spoken long enough. Happosai was ready to fight and Cologne could sense his rising ki.

"I'm sorry Happi, not a chance. Splitting Cat Hairs!" At her cry Cologne's image blurred and split into twelve copies of herself, surrounding Happosai on the rooftop they were currently standing on as well as a few of the rooftops around them.

Happosai eyed each of the Cologne doppelgangers warily. She was distributing her ki evenly among each of her clones and he couldn't tell which the real one was. This was different from the Splitting Cat Hairs technique that the elder had used on Ranma, which were essentially just afterimages. This was the true technique, which granted physically manifested copies of the user.

The master knew he was in trouble. In his drugged state there was no way he would be able to fight them all off. It was time to pull out the big guns.

With nothing more than a grunt, Happosai's red aura manifested itself around him, twisting and wrapping around him like an angry wind. Slowly, Happosai began to grow. In the span of a few short seconds, the little man had grown to gargantuan proportions, and even Cologne seemed taken aback. He had managed to increase his size to about fifteen feet, and his aura still blazed around him. He made the first move.

The giant Happosai moved much faster than his size would indicate and stomped where one of Cologne's copies stood moments before. His massive foot left deep cracks that rocked the building they were standing on, but Cologne was too fast to get caught by such a simple attack. At least, the first one. A giant hand came down in the direction that Cologne had dodged and he smiled as he felt the contact of her body under his palm. And then like popping a balloon, she just disappeared.

Immediately all of the Cologne's moved to engage as one.

The fight was more intense than either of them had experienced in a very long time. The Cologne copies, tiny in comparison to the titan they were fighting, blurred in an out of sight delivering dozens of pinpoint blows before the giant Happosai could get his hands on them. But they couldn't pierce his battle aura either, even with the ki-infused canes. While the Cologne's were moving like dynamos, they just couldn't damage Happosai. All it took was a single hit from his giant hand or foot and the fragile copy just disappeared.

The real Cologne grit her teeth in frustration. She knew Happi was both resilient and tenacious, but she hadn't expected him to shrug off her poisoned dumplings like they were nothing. It looks like she was going to have to play dirty. She reached behind her.

Happosai was getting tired. He was being hit relentlessly, and while he was making some progress taking out Cologne's copies, he knew he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. And then, more than seeing or smelling it, he could feel _it_.

In her hands, Cologne held a bra.

Damn her!

Almost immediately, Happosai had to fight to stay in control of his aura. He clenched his fists and gnashed his teeth in concentration, ignoring the hits that the Cologne's were still landing on him, not that he could feel it. All he could _feel_ was the brassiere in her hands. The energy… dripping off it. The rush of power he felt when he took that energy was practically orgasmic and as addicting as any drug. But he bit his tongue. Hard.

The pain shocked him back into focus. Apparently, he was also missing a hand. It seemed four of the remaining Cologne's stabbed his wrist simultaneously from four directions and punched through his aura while he was busy trying not to be distracted by the bra. The blood poured like a stream on the ground by his feet.

Ignoring the loss of his left hand he charged forward, content with just seeing the shocked look on Cologne's face. He closed the distance quickly and threw a punch as hard and as fast as he could, the shockwave of air tearing a layer of tiles off the roof. As his fist closed in, he noticed the bra again. All it would take is to open his fingers and grasp that power. Let go of the focus and get lost in the rush of lustful energy, _just one more time_. Must hit Cologne. _**Must feel the rush!**_

Happosai bit through his tongue.

He felt his fist make contact with Cologne and watched her body fly away, surrounded by the splinters of her shattered cane. Happosai managed a grim smile with blood dripping down his lips when he noticed the other Cologne's disappear one by one. With that, he fell to his knees in triumph and began crawling toward the fallen brassiere. It was so close. When he touched it, he would feel better, rejuvenated, like a young man again. Happosai reached out to grab it-

When a foot came down on his arm hard, snapping it in two places. The old man screamed and looked up. And then immediately wished he hadn't.

Cologne.

Twenty years old, and beautiful as she ever was.

Gone were her long white tresses, and her hair was a lustrous deep purple a few shades darker than Shampoo's. Not a single wrinkle marred her face, and her formerly sunken green eyes were now radiant and hypnotizing. Dressed in traditional Joketsuzoku battle dress, she stood like a long-lost memory before him.

"C… Cologne?" Happosai managed to stutter with blood filling his mouth, cradling both his damaged arms.

"Yes Happi, it's me." The old man almost wept at hearing her voice, the same sweet melodic voice he had fallen in love with as a rash young man.

"S-so it w-was a div-diversion."

Cologne kneeled in front of him and cupped his cheek. "Yes it was." She said sadly. "I had started the ritual even before you arrived at the Nekohanten. With this body I have so much more power. And a purpose to put it to good use."

"W-what about-"

Gently, she put her finger on his lips. "Shush now. I can't have you interfere any longer. This is goodbye, Happi."

With purple ki streaming slowly out of her fingers, she raked them across his eyes.

* * *

**The Present**

**Nerima General Hospital**

"I don't remember much of what happened right after that. I was too disoriented, and you know, blind. All I could really remember was how much I hated her." Happosai tapped out the ember from his pipe into a small ashtray by the hospital bed. Even he didn't need his eyes for that.

I felt for the old man, I really did. I could only imagine what it would be like to have been betrayed by someone with as much history as those two had.

"So what happened with Cologne?" I asked, leaning forward in my chair. As little credit everyone gave to Happosai as a human being, he was a fantastic storyteller. Cologne's machinations before the war started were still something of a mystery to most of the people outside of her inner circle. I wasn't sure if grandfather Happosai was counted among them.

The blind man sighed and laid back into his bed, getting comfortable again. "I heard she went straight to China after that night. I suppose I was her last loose end here before she dropped everything to start her 'great Amazonian crusade'."

I could hear the bitterness in his voice.

He was silent a few seconds before continuing. "I hated her you know. For, well, I don't know how long, but I plotted my revenge for what seemed like months. But you know what? I knew there was just no way I'd win. In this old broken body there is some power, but nothing compared to what she became. For Masters like Cologne and I, the only thing working against us is our age. It's the stigma every great martial artist must face. No matter how strong or fast we may ever become, there's no escaping old age. But we found a cure for it! Cologne and I, together, we managed to find a way to take all of our knowledge and skill and transfer it to a body that could put it to good use!"

"But she betrayed you."

He nodded. "She betrayed me. Really, it's probably better this way considering I had my own plans for her as well. Plans that would had made her hate me as much as I hate her now."

I was confused. Happosai would have turned on Cologne had their positions been reversed?

"Let me explain Kasumi-chan. This is no small thing I'm talking about."

"On the record?" I had a book to write after all. It just wouldn't do to leave out all the facts.

He thought for a moment. "On the record. I have no reason to hide it anymore."

"Okay then. You can tell me anything grandfather."

He chuckled quietly to himself. "Thank you Kasumi, you're a sweet one. I'm just going to go right ahead and say it: I am… was a powerful martial artist."

I would have fixed him with a glare of incredulity, but he wouldn't have been able to see it.

"But there's more to it than that. The source of my power, my ki, is part of a darker legacy of my family. You see, my ancestors were Burakumin (*3), the spit upon dregs of Japanese society. And they were angry, being treated as less than human and everyone looking down their noses at us. I don't know the details of what happened exactly, but somewhere down the line, our ki changed. I suppose the hate and desire for power altered the way people of my lineage interact with the ki of others. Somehow, that desire for power became an insatiable lust that fueled our strength. That's why I was always stronger and faster after I've groped a woman or even got a hold of her scent. It's like an addiction, once you start paying attention to its call."

Though his eyes were closed, I could tell that grandfather Happosai was getting emotional talking about the source of his might. It was like he was talking about a beloved master rather than his ki. I found it unsettling.

"Although it provided my ancestors with great power, there's always a price to pay for it. And our price was that we would forever be hated. Unlovable until the end. The alteration of our ki is an abomination, and anyone with normal ki is naturally repulsed by it, even if they don't know why. And that's why every single person in my family is born a bastard."

"Your ancestors never got married?"

"Naturally repulsing women doesn't make it easy to get married. It makes it impossible. That's why every mother of a person of my bloodline… is a victim of rape."

I could only stare in mute shock. Slowly the pieces came together. "You were going to rape Cologne."

"If I had regained my youth and my spirit, I would have done… what was necessary to continue my family legacy. And although she may have hated both the child and me, in the end Cologne would have let it live. My child would have survived. It's human nature. Since the day I was born, the only person who I've ever called a friend is Cologne. She's the only one who ever tried to fight the utter disgust I knew she secretly had for me. And I loved her for it. But I knew it was a doomed relationship from the beginning, she just happened to come out on top this one last time."

"I…" I was at a complete loss for words. I had lived with grandfather Happosai for some time, but had never known any of what he had just confessed. Was this why whenever I went to clean his room, I had to fight the urge to gag? Whenever he wandered into the kitchen alone with me, I secretly wanted to run out screaming? Was this why I felt guilty for not loving someone I was supposed to consider family?

I had never felt as much pity, and vitriolic hate, for the same creature.

"I know Kasumi, you don't have to say anything."

Silently, I was thankful. I was afraid that if I had to say anything to him that it would come out wrong. Luckily, he changed the subject.

"Any word from Ranma or Ryoga? I'm sure you'd love to get their side of the story."

I shook my head sadly. "No, not yet. We're all still looking for them."

"So who else is on your list of interviewees? I'm sure I'm not the only one who has an account to give."

I ran through the mental checklist in my head and figured it wouldn't really matter if he knew.

"I'm going to see Shampoo next."

"Cologne's progeny, eh? I thought she would be in China dealing with her new Amazons. Not to mention that husband of hers and his little zoo."

"She's in town to work out negotiations with Nabiki and her company. I'm probably going to be seeing both of them before I leave Nerima."

Happosai yawned loudly and turned on his side. "Best you go soon then. Don't want to miss the new Matriarch before she skips town again.

"I'll do that." I put my micro recorder back into my messenger bag and stood from my chair, stretching. I looked at the back of the man I had just interviewed and my conflicting emotions didn't settle in the slightest. He looked so much like a frail old man rather than a martial artist, beaten down by the harshness of a life he had no choice in. And yet, he remained unrepentant for so many of his sins. It's like he gave up the moment he lost his chance at youth again, knowing he could never beat Cologne as he was.

For all his power and mastery of the martial way, he was still a broken old man.

"Goodbye grandfather Happosai."

"Goodbye Kasumi-chan."

With that, I walked out of his little white room and into the hallway. I stood there for a few moments just to watch some of the nurses and doctors as they walked past. I noticed that every time one of the passed the room, their smiles would fade slightly and they would walk just a little faster as if to get away from some unseen force. It must be awful, pushing everyone away whether or not you wanted to.

The Sacred Scroll! I had forgotten to ask Happosai about the scroll of the Seven Lucky Gods that he mentioned. I considered turning around and going back to ask when I was startled by my phone ringing. I pulled the little silver cell phone out of my bag.

**Caller ID:** Nabiki Tendo

I took a breath then picked up. "Hello Nabiki."

"Sis, are you still at the hospital?" I could hear the urgency in her tone, and Nabiki was not a person to get worked up over nothing.

"Yes, I just spoke with grandfather Happosai. What's wrong?"

"Shampoo's convoy was attacked by the loyalists on her way to see me. I'll send a car to pick you up right away. And Shirokuro is with you right?"

"Yes, I'll wait for the car here. Is Shampoo alright?"

"I can't say over the phone but things are getting kind of hectic. I'll talk to you as soon as you get here. Be careful though, they might be looking for you too. Love you sis."

"Alright I'll be careful. Love you too Nabiki."

"Bye."

"Bye."

I hung up and put the phone away. I had known that there were still a few active sleeper cells of Amazon loyalists embedded in Nerima and most of Tokyo. I wouldn't have expected them to openly attack Shampoo but they were getting desperate considering the losses they had taken in the mainland. Another danger was that the Amazons stationed in central cities tended to use more current and sophisticated means of attack, courtesy of Cologne's war modernization programs. At least most of them tended to still be amateurs.

I walked as quickly as I could to the front entrance to wait for Nabiki's car, and was happy to find that Shirokuro was being patted on the head by a pair of young children. The black and white dog was easily three times their size, but she was gently nuzzling them and licking their hands. She may be a half-wolf war dog, but she was as gentle as a puppy with children.

As soon as I exited the double doors of the hospital, Shirokuro padded her way over to me and I scratched her under the chin and eyed Ryoga's trademark bandanna around her neck.

"We're going to see Nabiki, girl. She might have a better idea where to find your master!"

Shirokuro yipped and bound in a circle, wagging her tail excitedly. I found that the dog was just as smart as Ryoga always claimed she was, and surprisingly easy to talk to. Truly one of a kind.

I spotted a black sedan approaching the hospital, the kind that was supposed to be 'really expensive' and not often found in Japan. It stopped right in front of me, and where I expected Nabiki, the sunroof opened and up stood an older Chinese woman. Holding an assault rifle. Pointed at me.

Everyone still outside of the hospital began screaming and running the moment they saw the gun. It was loud and chaotic, and there was no way I would be able to run without getting someone caught in the crossfire.

The woman spoke with a heavy Mandarin accent. "Kasumi Tendo, by the orders of the true Matriarch, you are to come with us."

Shirokuro got low on all fours and began growling menacingly. Without even looking at her I could tell that the dog was ready to pounce. I knelt down next to her and put my hand on the bandanna that rested around her neck.

"Easy girl, wait for my signal." I could feel Shirokuro's muscles relax slightly under my touch.

I grasped the bandanna and with a tiny sliver of ki sent through the fabric, the knot undid itself and fell loosely into my hand. Another sliver of ki and the yellow and black cloth reshaped itself in my hand. It became as sharp and as strong as any blade.

Quietly, I whispered to my companion: "Now."

**End Chapter 1**

* * *

A/N

First chapter done! Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Things are just kicking off and I'll be introducing more of the Ranma cast in the coming chapters as well as revealing some back story about the war. There is going to be a fair number of flashbacks so I'll try to keep it as minimally jarring as possible. The projected length for this fic is far longer and more complex than anything I've written before, fanfiction or otherwise, so any words of wisdom to keep my enthusiasm up would be appreciated! They will be turned into demotivational posters to hang on my wall while I write.

(*1): Shirokuro - Shirokuro is Ryoga's dog (Checkers in the translated version). I've always thought that Shirokuro was a very cool side character that was never explained in great detail. A dog that's smart enough to get herself on TV (and explain that she had puppies?), practically capable of understanding human speech, identifying her master regardless of his form, and able to protect the vacant Hibiki home? The dog deserves more credit. I'm more inclined toward using the manga version of Shirokuro.

(*2) Sacred Scroll of the Seven Lucky Gods - This is a plot device in the Ranma movie "Big Trouble in Nekonron China". I haven't watched the movie since owning it on VHS, so I'm pulling from memory here. In the movie the scroll was supposedly stolen by Happosai in his youth, but was cut in half during his escape. By the end of the movie they join the two halves of the scroll, and it turns out to be a recipe for pickles (I think).

(*3) Burakumin - The Burakumin are one of the main minority groups in Japan. They are descendants of outcasts from the feudal era. Burakumin were usually considered 'tainted' by their occupations which dealt with death or ritual impurity (such as executioners, undertakers, butchers, etc.) and even today there is still some measure of discrimination against them. Heavily paraphrased from Wikipedia.

'Til next time!


	3. Simpler Times

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½ in any capacity. All associated characters, locations, gimmicks, and curses are property of Rumiko Takahashi.

**Chronology:** The _Present_ takes place three years after the end of the manga, and the "Jusenkyo Conflict" in China has more-or-less officially ended.

A/N at the end with (*#) explanations. Ctrl + F if you can't wait.

* * *

**The Brave May Fall**

By figurefour

**Chapter 2:** Simpler Times

"_Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate."_

-Sun Tzu

I flexed my ki, stretching the energy to flow out permeate the air around me. Within moments I could sense that there were four other people in the car including the woman pointing an intimidating looking assault rifle at me. There was the driver and the person in the passenger seat, as well as one more person… in the trunk? Whoever it was wasn't moving.

I grasped the blade I had formed from Ryoga's bandanna and its reassuring heft felt nothing like the cotton fabric it was made of. These three were Amazons, which meant they were highly trained in various forms of martial arts, weaponry, and all-around death dealing. Luckily, I had Shirokuro by my side.

Crouched beside Shirokuro I could clearly feel her battle aura grow as she prepared to attack. Her ki was distinctly different from any human, but that didn't mean it was in any way weaker. I leaned toward the massive dog and whispered so softly only she could hear.

"Now."

From my crouching position, I shot forward toward the black sedan and tucked into a roll that brought me up against the side door and out of the line of fire. The Chinese woman spouted a curse in Mandarin and began firing, the resounding booms from the rifle's automatic fire caused the people around to panic even more. I heard the click of the passenger door opening and managed to kick it shut before another one of the Amazons got out.

Shirokuro banked wide with me drawing the gunfire away from her. With a single great leap she cleared the entire car and closed her powerful jaws on the wrist of the shooter. I could almost hear the bones shatter under the force of the half-wolf's ferocious bite. The Amazon screamed and dropped the gun which slid off the far side of the car.

I got to my feet as quickly as possible when the passenger door finally opened and an Amazon stepped out to greet me. It was another short Chinese woman, this time with buzzed hair and sunglasses, and in her hand was an electric stun baton. The sparks of blue electricity crackled angrily from between the two electrodes positioned at the baton's tip. She took up a basic Eskrima stance, and I moved to engage her.

The shorter woman swung the stun baton in a fast, compact arc but I merely stepped in and blocked her forearm with mine. With my ki-enhanced senses and speed, the shorter girl could only watch in surprise as I reversed the grip of the blade in my hands and severed the wrist flexor muscle cluster. Immediately the stun baton fell to the ground and I pressed the advantage. Slipping down low with the blade still in the reverse grip I sliced twice, once behind the knee and another underneath the armpit. She fell like a puppet with her strings cut. A single stomp to the head was all it took to knock the girl out.

I was lucky this one seemed to be an amateur. Most of my other confrontations with the Amazons tended to lead to heavy bruising and injuries. I took a quick second to observe my surroundings.

It looked like Shirokuro was in her element. The black and white beast jumped into the car through the sunroof and took the shooter down with her. The only thing that could be heard from inside were Shirokuro's growls and the screams of the Amazons as the car violently rocked back and forth. I shook my head sadly. Shirokuro would get very dirty doing her work inside a car with two people.

I didn't open the doors until the struggling stopped. Shirokuro walked out and sneezed. She looked sheepishly up at me with her ears drooping, knowing I'd be a bit put off by the mess she made. The black half of her coat was covered with a crimson sheen that glistened in the light. Her white half was covered in large red splotches, not to mention the stains on her mouth. I frowned, and she looked down guiltily with her tail between her legs.

I knelt down and scratched her head anyway. "That's a good girl. Thanks for getting the one with the gun."

"Woof!"

"Alright then, all is well. We just have to get you cleaned up now. Oh! I almost forgot. Watch the trunk, I'm opening it up." The dog was obedient as ever and walked to the back of the car while I went to the driver's seat and popped the trunk. I moved quickly to the trunk and just ogled at the curled up form lying in it.

"Oh my!"

It was Tatewaki Kuno, of the great and noble house of Kuno.

Bound and gagged. In the trunk of a car. Naked.

I couldn't help but giggle.

After taking a few moments to compose myself (and deciding whether or not to take a picture) I grabbed the kendoist's head and felt for a pulse. Alive. He also seemed to be breathing normally. Everything seemed to be fine for the time being, save for the police sirens that blared in the distance. Shirokuro stood on her hind legs and put her front paws on the edge of the trunk, sniffing the unconscious man.

"Do you remember Tatewaki, girl? He was with us in China."

"Woof!"

"I wonder what he's doing here. The Amazons captured him somehow but there's no way these three alone would have been able to subdue him. At least, they wouldn't if he was ready for them."

I knew that despite Kuno's unofficial title as the "poetry spouting idiot" among the Nerima martial artist community, he was actually a very strong and skilled fighter. The battle experience he gained during the war was nothing to scoff at, and I had personally seen him slice a few Amazon war machines to bits. Perhaps Kuno's kidnapping had something to do with Shampoo's convoy being attacked.

Either way, I couldn't leave him here.

I took off my brown leather jacket and quickly tied it around Kuno's waist, if only to provide him with a fraction of decency. I was only wearing a thin blue tank top underneath, but luckily it wasn't cold enough that a little passive ki warming couldn't fix it. I tried a few slaps to Kuno's face but all I got in response was a light snore.

"Miss Tendo!"

I spun around in a low crouch with the bandanna blade in hand. I had expected more Amazons but was relieved to see that it was Takezo, Nabiki's driver. Behind him was a black sedan similar to the ones the Amazon's arrived in.

"Takezo! Over here, we need your help." Takezo was a young man in his mid-twenties, dressed in a black suit and tie with a driver's hat. Together with his help we were able to move Kuno out of the trunk and into the back seat of Nabiki's car. Shirokuro jumped in and made herself comfortable on the floor by the kendoist's feet. Once Takezo started the engine and we drove off, I sighed in relief and leaned back into the plush leather seating.

"It's a good thing I arrived when I did Miss Tendo, the police are on their way. Is that Tatewaki Kuno in the back?" He asked with a bit of confusion. Takezo had been Nabiki's personal driver and bodyguard for the last two years and I knew I could trust him to stay ahead of the police.

"Yes it is, although I'm not sure how he ended up in the trunk of that car."

Takezo fully opened the partition between the driver and passenger seats so we could hear each other more clearly. "I think that was one of the vehicles that were reported missing after the attack on Lady Shampoo's convoy. It looks like the loyalists were the ones who stole it."

"What happened to her? Is Shampoo alright?"

"I believe so ma'am, but I'm not really at liberty to say. Things were pretty hectic after the attack and I don't know all the details. Your sister said she'd fill you in on what happened as soon as we get there."

"Alright, thank you Takezo. You've been very helpful."

"Of course. My pleasure Miss Tendo."

Amazon attacks, kidnapped friends, running from the law… it was turning out to be a pretty normal day.

* * *

I stood in front of the glass window and closed my eyes, fighting off vertigo. Looking straight down from the fortieth floor of a high-rise office building was definitely something I was not used to. I walked back to where my sister was talking grimly on the phone and rejoined her by the coffee table.

Takezo had taken me to the heart of Nabiki's corporate empire: the headquarters of Niuchezu Dynamics Inc. (*1), one of the largest research and development firms in eastern Asia. Over the last three years under Nabiki's direction, the company managed to expand both its client base and diversity of projects by a staggering percentage. As the CEO of such a flourishing company, Nabiki had the right to choose wherever she wanted as her office. She had chosen the fortieth floor corner office, and it was bigger than my entire apartment.

Admiring my little sister one more time I could see that she had definitely grown up in the last three years. The former mercenary girl was speaking in hushed tones on the phone, dressed in a sharp form-fitting navy blue dress that she somehow managed to look both professional and alluring in. She was also adorned with expensive jewelry and makeup, with her longer hair put up in an elaborate bun; a womanly touch that was missing during her teenage years. My little sister had grown up and became a woman without me. I felt out of place with my dirty traveling clothes, messy hair, and chipped nails, not to mention the blood stains.

Nabiki ended her call and fixed me with a smile. "It looks like Tatie will be okay. The doctors said they found marks from seventeen tranquilizer darts on his body, but the dummy will make it through."

"That's good. What about Shirokuro?" Nabiki had ordered that the canine be escorted to another part of the building when we first arrived.

"I'll have her brought here once my men get her cleaned. I don't want blood or fur getting on my carpet."

Nabiki likes nice things, and she liked for them to stay nice.

"So what happened with Shampoo?" I asked.

Nabiki stood and walked over to a mini bar and began pouring herself a strong drink. "Want one?" (*2)

"No thank you."

"More for me. Anyway, Shampoo's itinerary scheduled her to arrive by private jet this morning from Beijing. A mixed team of mine and her own personal guard provided the security detail for her transportation over here. We had a convoy of eight fully manned combat-ready vehicles travelling at operation speed. That's some pretty significant protection."

"But Cologne's Amazon attacked anyway." I stated. It was disheartening to know that even such a well-armed convoy didn't discourage the loyalists at all. It seemed like Cologne really did want her great grand-daughter dead.

Nabiki took a swig from her drink and sat back down. "We severely underestimated them, sis. In terms of manpower, equipment, and organization, they went completely above and beyond our estimates. They attacked with various heavy munitions and anti-vehicle weaponry. This is military-grade stuff we're talking about here, and they even had time to plant mines! They were ready for us."

"Does that mean Cologne has support from the military?"

"_A_ military. Or at least a military-grade arms manufacturer. We're not sure which one yet."

Both of us sat in silence for a while, letting the weight of her words sink in. If Cologne and her loyalists were able to establish this strong of a foothold in Tokyo, what did this mean for the remainder of her dwindling forces in China? And for that matter, who could possibly supply her with military grade arms? If the loyalists in China managed to get their hands on those sorts of weapons, the Three Princes would be in some serious trouble.

"Do Kirin, Toma, and Herb know yet?" (*3)

Nabiki to another sip of her drink. "Not yet. I'm using my resources to track down Cologne's supplier first. Those three are busy enough as it is trying to keep order and rebuild. I'll let them know once we have more solid leads."

"Are there any survivors from the attack?" I knew that Nabiki's private security force was outfitted with the best weapons and equipment that money could buy. They were equipped to take on a small nation if they absolutely had to.

There was an uncomfortable pause hanging in the air before Nabiki finally responded. "There was a ninety eight percent casualty rate. The only survivors are still in critical condition. Our men were completely outclassed, not to mention the loyalists had a few ki-users on top if it all. They were good men, some of my best."

"And Shampoo?"

"Her car was the first one attacked. Evidence suggests the insurgents fired several guided anti-tank missiles from the rooftops." Nabiki looked away and closed her eyes. "… Most of her body was found amongst the wreckage. She died instantly."

At hearing that I felt something catch in my throat. Shampoo was dead? I almost didn't believe it. Shampoo was a martial artist of the highest caliber, and even though her convoy was attacked, she was too strong and stubborn to be killed like that. Right? While I hadn't spent too much quality time with the girl, she was still one of us.

"She'll be arriving at Niuchezu within the hour." I saw the hint of a grin on my sister's face.

I turned to look at my sister, confused. "I thought you said…"

"The 'Shampoo' that was killed in the convoy was a body double. The real Shampoo just arrived in Japan and she's being picked up by helicopter now."

Despite Nabiki's grim news, I couldn't help but be excited that Shampoo actually had survived. "Great! So that means she's perfectly fine then."

"That's right, but the fact that the real Shampoo is still alive does not leave this room, understand? Many good lives were taken today to fake her death. I can only hope it was worth it."

"Did Shampoo know about the body double?"

"Yes, we came up with the plan together. Cologne hasn't been found yet, and not a single one of her loyalists we've been able to capture and interrogate knows where she is. The one thing they all seem to know with unwavering certainty, is that she's still alive. We needed to get Shampoo 'officially' out of the picture. That way, Cologne is bound to expose herself to Shampoo's 'rebel' Amazons once the dust settles."

I couldn't help but be impressed by my sister's foresight. It seems like she picked up a few tricks in the last few years, and she seemed to be quite comfortable spreading misinformation.

"So we have some time to kill before she arrives then?"

Nabiki looked at her watch. "A bit, yeah."

"Then would it be alright if I interviewed you?"

"Well… I suppose. You know I'm only doing it because we're sisters right? Every other reporter or journalist that's tried to walk through these doors to get an interview ended up outside on their ass."

We both laughed, though I was sure she wasn't exaggerating much. "I know Nabi, I love you too."

"So what do you want to know? I don't have that much time though; I have to make some preparations before Shampoo arrives."

I fished the micro recorder out of my bag and placed it on the table between us.

"Tell me about how you got involved in this whole mess in the first place. The day you left. Father only told me some of it and I got the feeling that he left out some parts."

Nabiki put her finger to her lips and thought for a moment. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure dad left out some of the rougher bits, some of the things I said. I think it was a few months before Cologne disappeared and Happosai ended up in the hospital…"

* * *

**Three Years Ago**

**Furinkan High School **

"Now, you're sure this investment will hold up? I don't want to find out a few months from now that I've burned a hole through my wallet."

"Don't worry Professor Sato! As your financial advisor I can assure you that your investments will potentially double, or even triple. I have it on good authority that the DOATEC Corporation just instated a brand new chairman, and their stocks are bound to soar under new leadership."

"Alright I trust you. Your tips have always been good before."

"Of course they have. And my fee?"

Professor Sato reached into his wallet and pulled out a few bills of high denomination and pressed it into her waiting hand.

"There you are Nabiki. Thanks for the advice."

"My pleasure professor. Now if you'll excuse me I have other business to attend to."

With a curt nod, Nabiki and Sato parted ways in the halls of Furinkan High. Playing with the fresh, crisp money in her hand Nabiki sighed. Oh how she loved the sound fresh bills made when she rubbed them together.

She had been running her 'candid photo' scheme ever since Akane's popularity exploded in middle school, and it was getting old. Even with Ranma and his girl side to expand her clientele, the pickings had been slim at best. Ripping off poor high school students (and Kuno) just wasn't cutting it anymore. Instead she was being paid much larger sums of money to advise her teachers on stock market investments. To her, the stock market was simply a form of high-stakes gambling. She was a pro at gambling.

With the money she made, Nabiki invested in the stock market herself and managed to start her own nice little nest egg, including a budget for bribes and tips on insider trading. Now she was making money hand over fist with significantly less effort. As it turned out, conducting business with her teachers instead of bullying the students actually made people more wary of her than usual.

As much as Akane was loved and admired in the school, Nabiki was feared. She liked it that way.

Other students were milling around in the halls during lunch, paying her no mind as usual. What was unusual was when the loudspeaker suddenly came on in the middle of her lunch break.

"Nabiki Tendo, please report to the principal's office. Nabiki Tendo to the principal's office."

Nabiki quirked an eyebrow. That was strange. She was very careful and took extra precautions to make sure that no one in charge knew about her operations; photos, gambling, or otherwise. Now that she's taken to dealing with the faculty directly, it was highly unlikely that she was in any real trouble. Walking down the hall toward the principal's office, Nabiki found herself knocked off balance and almost toppled over when a little girl in a yellow dress slammed into her.

"Miss Hinako?"

The little brown haired teacher cleared her head of the dizziness and stood up trying to maintain her dignity. It was difficult when she stood at her full height and still didn't come up to Nabiki's neck.

"Miss Tendo! Shouldn't you be getting to the principal's office?" She said, trying to muster up as much authority as she could.

"I'm on my way there now. Do you know what it's about?"

Miss Hinako shook her head. "No I don't. I did see a lady speaking with Principal Kuno just a few minutes ago. Maybe it has something to do with that?"

"What did she look like?"

"I don't know, I didn't get a good look at her. By the way, thank you for your suggestion in investing in the Ootori Zaibatsu! With the money I made I placed an order for more fighting carp!" The little girl waved her arms excitedly and sucked in her cheeks to make a fishy face.

"Glad I could help Miss Hinako. Anyway, I need to go."

"Right! Thanks again!" The child teacher waved goodbye enthusiastically.

It was always a strange experience, dealing with Ms. Hinako. At least helping out with her finances took Nabiki out of the firing line when she decided it was time to drain a few delinquents and fill out her dress. A few quick twists and turns and she found herself standing in front of the dreaded Hawaiian themed Principal Kuno's office.

Two knocks and she stepped inside.

The place was about as strange as she heard, once word got around that the principal decided to redecorate. In the corner of the room was a coconut tree that was hunched over from the relatively low height of the school ceiling. Underneath her feet and covering the entire office floor was a thick layer of sand and she could have sworn that she saw little crabs darting in and out of tiny holes. In the center of the room was a very out of place mahogany desk, and behind it sat Principal Kuno in his trademark Hawaiian shirt and jeans. And wearing sunglasses indoors.

"Aloha 'auinala wahine. Come in, come in." Principal Kuno gestured for her to step forward and take a seat in the chairs positioned awkwardly on the sand. After a few moments Nabiki was finally able to make herself comfortable, although she was worried that sand would get into her indoor shoes.

"You wanted to see me principal? I won't cut my hair."

"No, no 'dis is not about that delinquent haircut you have." The principal reached for a file lying on the desk and began flipping through it. Her file, Nabiki reckoned.

"It says here that you have top marks in your class and have excellent recommendations from virtually all your teachers. It also says that you're the older sister of Akane Tendo, that popular girl engaged to _Ranma Saotome_." The principal practically seethed just saying his name.

"That's right." Nabiki was rather proud of being able to stay ahead of her studies, despite the amount of energy she put into her extracurricular activities.

"That bad keiki has been a thorn in my coconut ever since I laid eyes 'pon the boy. Not even Miss Hinako could control 'im! And now 'da boy-"

"Ahem." Nabiki coughed politely, interrupting the principal's rant before he built up momentum. She had better things to be doing that listening to the principal vent about her future brother-in-law. Like doing some market research.

The principal looked flustered but put Nabiki's file in front of his face and coughed. "Ah, and where were we? In your teacher's notes they say that you are quite business savvy and are familiar with advanced accounting, even though I have no idea how your English and P.E. teachers would know that. Professor Sato gave you high marks for an advanced business and management class you weren't even enrolled in!"

"He did? I didn't even know that was a course we offered."

"Technically, we don't yet. But Sato even said, and I quote: 'Nabiki Tendo has a peerless mind for business and numbers, as well as an excellent work ethic. When presented with obstacles, her ability to analyze and make insightful decisions is worthy of high praise. She is one of my most treasured students and I'm sure that she will excel in her chosen field.'"

Nabiki had to resist the incredible urge to smack herself on the forehead. She had made Sato quite a large sum since he started taking her financial advice, but he never once made any mention of falsifying her records. While the praise he heaped on her was admittedly flattering, it was getting her noticed. Getting noticed was reserved for the martial artists.

Principal Kuno put down the file and looked at Nabiki. At least she thought he was looking at her. She couldn't see through his glasses.

"Now Miss Tendo, I don't really care about why Professor Sato decided to give you such a glowing recommendation. What I care about is why _all_ of your teachers are giving you such glowing recommendations, particularly in the areas of finance."

Nabiki began to sweat. Things could potentially get ugly if the principal found out that the teachers were paying her to tell them where to buy stocks. The principal was already incredibly rich and she doubted that any bribe she could offer would be worth anything to him. Nabiki could see her entire operation crumbling right in front of her.

"And that's why Niuchezu Dynamics would like to offer you a job."

She could feel her mouth open and close a few times before she actually heard the words come out. "What?"

"Well, an internship actually. Let me explain." Principal Kuno leaned back into his chair and played with his trademark clippers idly. "Earlier today a representative from Niuchezu Dynamics came to me with a proposition. You see, Niuchezu Dynamics is a large corporation that has contracts in a very diverse number of markets. They value integrity, ingenuity, and a strong work ethic which are qualities that your teachers have made abundantly clear that you have. Niuchezu is always on the lookout for prospective talent in a wide variety of fields, and it is actually fairly common for them to take on a number of interns from various schools to, I suppose, groom them for employment."

Nabiki was a bit stunned by the whole thing. "So are you saying they want me to work for them?"

"They want you to be an intern with them for a few months, just to get your feet wet. If you're at all interested in staying on with them, and if they find your performance acceptable, you've found yourself a very stable job."

"What would they have me doing?"

The principal picked up another folder on his desk and handed it to Nabiki. "All of the details are in there, along with the contact number of the representative that scouted you. You should take a look at it and consider the offer."

"I will." Nabiki said absently. She began leafing through the material and it all seemed legitimate, with fancy gloss paper and fully bound information packets with graphs and charts. They even had company stock photos of professional looking people smiling and shaking hands.

"I mean it Miss Tendo, you really should consider it. In uncertain times like these, people would give almost anything to secure a steady job, especially with a company like Niuchezu Dynamics. Please, think about it. Now it's almost time for class and you should be going."

Nabiki stood and began walking toward the door when the principal got in one last word. "This is your decision Nabiki. Not your father's or your sister's. It's yours. Don't let this incredible opportunity pass you by, or you might regret it."

With a nod, Nabiki left the office.

Principal Kuno sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow. He did his job well, if he thought so himself. A moment later the side door to his office opened, and a tall middle aged Chinese woman stepped in wearing a dark business jacket and a miniskirt.

"What will happen to the girl?" He asked. He didn't really care one way or another, but she was still technically his student and it was his job to ask.

"It's none of your concern, principal. You played your part well; very convincing. All I have to do now is wait for her call."

"How do you know she'll call back? She does have a lot of family keeping her here."

The Chinese woman chuckled. "We've balanced things heavily in our favor long before we approached you, Principal Kuno. Slowly driving her father into debt is just the beginning. When she sees the salary she'll be making just as an intern, she'll be aching to drop her life here and provide for her family."

"And the money?" The principal asked nervously.

"It's been wired into your account. It's all there. Also, your daughter has just been safely released to your manservant Sasuke. Unharmed as promised."

Principal Kuno took a minute to check his account balance on his computer and nodded in satisfaction. "You might have upheld your end of the bargain, but you still play dirty."

The woman simply grinned, which the principal found incredibly irritating. "Like I said, we balanced things in our favor long before we approached you."

"Then I suppose our business is done. But let me ask you, why are you spending all of this money and going through all of this effort, just to make this one girl an intern?"

"The 'why' of it doesn't matter, so stop asking." The woman fixed a glare on the principal. "All that matters is that the Matriarch's will be done."

Early evening began settling in the Nerima ward. The sun was starting to set as workers and students alike took to their nightly routines. There was a strange calm in the air that hadn't often been felt since the arrival of one Ranma Saotome. Except in the Tendo dojo, that is.

"But daddy!" Nabiki practically shouted, standing in the middle of the dojo alone with her father Soun.

"No 'buts' Nabiki! You will _not_ just abandon your family for something silly like this!" Soun, standing at his full height with his chest puffed out, towered over his middle daughter and loomed over her ominously.

Nabiki clenched her fist at her father's stubbornness and hissed through gritted teeth. "I'm not abandoning the family, dad! I'll be making a lot of money working for the company. It will be enough to send some home and help support the family!"

Soun had never been an angry man, even when subjected to Happosai's sadistic training methods and the chaos his household was constantly thrown into. And yet, when his precious daughter told him that she wanted to cast away her own family and become some corporation's mindless drone, he couldn't help but allow his temper to flare.

"And what about your education?" Soun almost yelled, the emptiness of the dojo making his voice seem much louder than it was.

"They have tutors and classes for people who haven't graduated yet. They have standardized exams that are recognized by the Japanese government! I could finish high school there."

"No Nabiki! Your sisters need you to be here with them."

"And you need the money!"

Soun paused, his expression looking something between shock and curiosity. The state of his finances was something of a sore point for the master of the Tendo school of Anything Goes Martial Arts. With three daughters and two freeloaders money was tight and it was a subject he didn't discuss with anyone, even his best friend Genma.

Angrily, Soun said the only thing he could. "What?"

"Think about it daddy! I know that you haven't taken martial arts or running the dojo seriously since mom died. It was the only source of income we have, and we can't live like this for forever. It's only gotten worse since the Saotome's got here. All day, every day, the only thing you do is drink and scheme with Mr. Saotome about how to get Akane and Ranma together. You don't work. You haven't practiced the art. You barely go to the city council meetings anymore. Our money problem won't go away if you ignore it. But maybe your _daughters_ will!"

Nabiki couldn't have stopped talking if she tried. Once the subject was breached, she opened up a floodgate she wasn't sure if she could close. And Nabiki knew that it led to something hurtful. The only physical sensation that registered to her was that tears were starting to fill her eyes as she shouted at her father.

"Kasumi is too busy taking care of the house and cleaning up after you and Mr. Saotome that she doesn't have time do anything else. Have you ever even thanked her once for everything she does for us? Have you ever asked what _she _wanted? Ever even wondered?"

To Soun, hearing that from his own daughter was like a slap in the face. Nabiki had so much to say to her father that she couldn't stop there if she tried.

"And Akane! Now we all know that she gets into some crazy situations, but she's still a young girl who needs her father! Where were you when she left and went to Ryuugenzawa on her own? Where were you when she was kidnapped by Pantyhose Taro? Or Kirin? Or the Phoenix Tribe? You were supposed to be this great martial artist who upholds honor and tradition, but you've never raised your hand to protect her. All I've ever seen you do is hide and cry like a _coward_ and put that responsibility on Ranma's shoulders!"

By now Nabiki could barely see straight and tears were cascading freely down her cheeks. There was some glimmer of emotion on Soun's face, but he had yet to move a muscle.

"And what about me, daddy? I know I'm not good at womanly things like Kasumi, and I'm not a martial artist like Akane. For years I've been trying to get you to notice me even a little, but any chance of that flew out the window when Akane's fiancée and his bastard father walked through our front gate! And now that I have an opportunity to do something on my own, that I have something I actually want to pursue, you say that I'm betraying everyone? It's _you_ that left your family! I haven't had a father in years!"

Nabiki felt a slap hit her face.

She cupped her quickly reddening check in shock. Blinking away her tears and blurry vision Nabiki locked eyes with her father, and to her surprise, she saw tears in them.

"Go then." The Tendo patriarch said. "If that's what you want Nabiki, then go."

A moment of stunned silence was all that stood between them, before Soun's middle child bolted out of the dojo with her tears still falling freely.

Soun felt himself fall to his knees, and his highly trained reflexes were the only thing that kept him from crumpling completely. He stared at his open hands numbly. He had hit his daughter. Never in his life had he ever hit any of his children, nor would he ever dream of doing it. And yet, he did. And he did it because she was right.

Nabiki was right about him. About everything.

Soun Tendo, Master of the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, put his hands to his face and wept.

* * *

**The Present**

**Niuchezu Dynamics Inc. Headquarters**

Nabiki took a deep breath and put her empty glass on the table. "I left the next morning. You remember."

I wiped a stray tear from my eye. We all knew that Nabiki and our father had gotten into a fight, but no one had known that it got so intense. He was a changed man after that night, and even Genma, his oldest friend, didn't recognize him. Father began training again and pushing himself beyond what everyone thought he was capable of at his age. Not only that, but he tried to take a more active role in mine and Akane's life. It's like he became obsessed with changing himself.

Everyone thought he had changed because Nabiki was out in the world all on her own, and that he was just channeling the nervous energy. Everyone saw the vitality it gave him, so no one ever questioned it further. Apparently everyone was wrong.

I couldn't help but smile a little at the painful memory. "I do remember. The note you left Akane and I had us crying for hours in your room. Did you know that I still cleaned your room every day, hoping that you'd come back?"

Nabiki put her hand gently on mine and smiled sweetly at me. "No, I didn't. You're too sweet, sister."

"Simpler times." I said, wistfully.

"Yeah, simpler times."

The oaken double doors of Nabiki's office burst open and I could almost hear the hinges groan in protest. Two people walked in. Well, one walked in and the other was thrown over the first's shoulder. The first thing I saw was the red skin tight cheongsam (*4) that the first person wore, obviously a very well built woman. Then I noticed the cascade of silky purple hair that was piled on top of the head.

"Nihao!"

**End Chapter 2**

* * *

A/N

Not much to say for this one. Still haven't gotten into the real meat of the story, but the pieces are almost in place. It seems like I've been giving the two older Tendo girls a lot of attention. I hope you like how they're turning out ;)

(*1): Niuchezu Dynamics - "Niuchezu" is supposed to be the Romanized form of "Joketsuzoku". :hint hint: I'm not 100% on the spelling, so until I'm corrected, it's going to stay as is.

(*2): Drinking age - The legal drinking age in Japan (according to my lazy version of research) is 20, which is how old Nabiki is. "But wait," you may ask, "How did Nabiki get from intern to CEO of a massive corporation in just three years?" My response: You'll just have to wait and see!

(*3): Three Princes - Kirin, Toma, and Herb are the Crown Prince's of their own respective territories. Kirin and Toma are from the first and second Ranma movies respectively, while Herb is a main antagonist in the manga. Kirin – Prince of the Seven Lucky Gods in Nekonron, China. Toma – Prince of Togenkyou (the floating) Island. Herb – Prince of the Musk Dynasty in China.

(*4): Cheongsam - It is a Chinese body hugging one-piece dress. It's pretty conspicuous and I'm fairly sure most readers know exactly what I'm talking about, but it's still a foreign word so I thought I'd clarify.

'Til next time!


	4. A Man in a Woman's World

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½ in any capacity. All associated characters, locations, gimmicks, and curses are property of Rumiko Takahashi.

**Chronology:** The _Present_ takes place three years after the end of the manga, and the "Jusenkyo Conflict" in China has more-or-less officially ended.

**Language Note:** {" "} Indicates dialogue spoken in Mandarin

A/N at the end with (*#) explanations. Ctrl + F if you can't wait.

* * *

**The Brave May Fall**

By figurefour

**Chapter 3: **A Man in a Woman's World

"_There would be no passion in this world if we never had to fight for what we love."  
- Suzie Switzer_

Hao woke up with his face on the floor, covered uncomfortably in his own drool. His training kicked in and he quickly assessed his body's condition before taking action. His face still hurt from a combination of lying on it for an unknown amount of time, and the fist that introduced itself to his temple before he blacked out. Trying to move his hands and his feet, he was disturbed to find them tightly bound behind his back. He tried to open his eyes, but was greeted by nothing but darkness. Hao allowed himself a brief moment of panic before realizing that he was blindfolded.

Then he heard voices nearby, no more than a few feet away.

"So you just decided to kick the door down? That's what the knob is for. We're not in Nerima anymore you know."

"Oh be nice. You know she likes to make an entrance. Besides, the door is still in one piece."

"Yeah, _my_ door is in one piece. Say that to the door leading to the helipad on the roof."

Hao listened carefully but didn't recognize the voices of either of the women. He didn't know who they were, but he was fairly certain he was in trouble. He had known that the mission to infiltrate Shampoo's Amazons was dangerous, but vital, and that's exactly why he volunteered to do it. That, and it had to be a man.

"At least I brought you a present!"

Hao recognized thatvoice! It was Shampoo, the self-titled Matriarch of the damned traitor Amazons.

"You mean that guy drooling on my floor?"

Hao was certain they were looking at him. He tried his best to not move and play dead.

"Yes, he's one of great-grandmother's spies. Maybe he know something."

"Oh? How did you find him?"

"He was my liaison officer when I still in China. He was caught trying to send encrypted messages to some of great-grandmother's known associates."

One of the women groaned in frustration. "So they know about the body double? I lost a lot of men in that operation."

"No, we stop him in time. Was close though."

"Okay, good. Shampoo, I have to ask. Why are you still calling her great-grandmother after everything she's done?"

"Nabiki, how could you even ask her that? No matter what's happened they're still family."

"Is true. Great-grandmother did many bad things, and she hurt all of us. But she's still family, and I don't forget what she did for me when I was younger."

"Fine, sorry I asked. Your Japanese is getting better by the way. So, what do we do with this guy?"

"We ask him questions. This one is weak. I only punched once in the head and he out like light."

"Nabiki, don't you have men that are good at, um, interrogation?"

"I do, but I don't think any of my men could do a better job than Shampoo. Plus, this guy already knows what she's capable of."

And with that, Hao felt himself lifted up roughly by his arms and placed in a chair. A second later his blindfold was removed and he found himself stunned momentarily by the bright fluorescent lighting. Blinking away the spots and adjusting to the light, Hao finally saw the people who's conversation he just eavesdropped on.

The first person he didn't know was a stunningly gorgeous brown-haired woman. At least, he thought she was gorgeous until he saw that she was wearing a rugged brown leather jacket that had a few fairly obvious bloodstains.

The second woman standing next to her was also a brown-haired beauty, but was dressed meticulously and professionally in contrast to the woman that was dressed like the adventurer-type. While Hao could easily sense the strong ki and power of the first woman, the second seemed ordinary in that respect. What she did have however, was a staggering _presence_ in the room that drew his attention and her image seemed to fit perfectly with the plush office he was currently prisoner in.

The last person in the room he dreaded to look at. But inevitably, his eyes were drawn to the woman that had brought him here. Shampoo, the Betrayer. She was dressed in the same thing he had last saw her in. The red silk cheongsam was beautiful in itself. It was meticulously crafted and embroidered by the liberated villages in China as a gift fit for a queen. To them, Shampoo was the hero who willingly cast off the title of "Amazon" to fight against Cologne's tyranny. Hao couldn't help but admire the dress as it fit Shampoo's body like a glove, and the extra high slit by the upper thigh so that she could fight in it. Her violet hair was lustrous even in the dim lighting, and it was made up in an elaborate hair style held together by a pair of ivory sticks. The only mar on her beauty was the long scar that ran from where the cheongsam ended, up the neck and over her jaw, to end just below her right eye.

"Ni, Hao."

The spoken words sent a shiver down Hao's spine. It was a stupid little pun that Shampoo came up with when he had first began serving under her, and it was the greeting she used with him ever since.

{"Hello Shampoo."}

Shampoo smiled sweetly at him, before violently backhanding him across the face. Hao's ears began to ring and his vision became blurry. He tasted blood.

"We're in Japan, so speak Japanese. We have a few questions to ask you."

The two other women stood behind Shampoo and watched casually as she manhandled him. Looking closer at his surroundings while feigning recovery from Shampoo's blow, Hao's spirits fell. Even if he was untied with a loaded gun in his hand, Hao highly doubted he'd pose any sort of threat against Shampoo. Not to mention whatever kinds of skills the ruggedly-dressed blood-stained woman could bring to the table. Being tied up in a fortified high-rise office building was just frosting on the cake. The only thing he could do was to see what they want and hope they'd be merciful. But then again, in his experience women tended to be cruel on principle.

Shampoo was the first one to ask a question. "Where is Cologne?"

That was easy enough to answer. "I don't know."

Hao almost let himself get comfortable when Shampoo smiled at him again. Before another backhand crashed into his already battered face.

"I know you don't." Hao heard the Betrayer say casually, before she continued. "You were in deep cover, and I know that all of great-grandmother's spies are kept out of the loop in case they compromised."

Hao spit out a broken tooth.

"Hey, my floor!"

Ignoring the other woman, he looked Shampoo straight in the eye for the first time. "Then what do you want to know?"

"How large are great-grandmother's forces in Japan?"

Hao took a moment to think. "Again, I don't know."

Shampoo began raising her hand, before Hao spoke up quickly.

"But! But I can tell you that we operate in independent sleeper cells that take orders only from the True Matriarch, and we have many such cells."

"How many?"

"I don't know. I've only had contact with one other cell before I was ordered to infiltrate your cabal of traitors, and that was right after… my own cell was obliterated."

Shampoo tapped a finger to her lips in thought. "Obliterated by who?"

Hao shuddered at the memory. "The Lost One."

At hearing this, all three women snapped to attention. Shampoo looked like she was about to say something, but was interrupted by the rugged woman as she moved closer to Hao.

"Ryoga? Your sleeper cell was destroyed by Ryoga?" Hao could sense the anticipation in her voice. So it seemed the rugged woman knew him personally.

"Yes, we were attacked by Ryoga Hibiki. You shouldn't be so surprised, Betrayer." I said, seeing the shock on Shampoo's face. "There isn't one among the faithful to the True Matriarch that hasn't heard of the Lost One, and the part he played in the war. Or the Beast."

"The Beast?"

"That's right. I believe you called him Ranma Saotome."

With a snarl, Shampoo reached behind her head to pull out one of the ivory sticks that held her hair in place. Faster than Hao could blink, he found himself choking for breath with Shampoo's vice-like hand around his neck and the ivory stick hovering just above his eye, ready to blind him forever.

"Tell me everything you know."

Hao choked and gasped feebly, before Shampoo softened her grip on his throat. A few hacks and coughs, and Hao's throat was clear enough to speak.

"It was six months ago, right after Ranma Saotome just fell right into our lap…"

* * *

**Six Months Ago**

**Outside Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture**

(1*)

I hated this bunker.

It was an old, abandoned industrial facility that was used for weapons testing in World War Two. It provided us with more than enough space for the garrison, serviceable medical and holding facilities, and a command center for our operations. Not to mention the security systems were still usable, if a bit outdated. Most of the bunker itself was subterranean, with the exception of a few reinforced control rooms built at the edge of the fields used for testing rocket engines and explosive experiments. It was a pretty desolate place to call home.

The only reason I was here in the first place was because this happened to be where my wife was stationed. Unfortunately as Amazon law dictated, I must go and serve her to the best of my ability, at home or abroad. I was one of the only five males that were stationed in the bunker. Stuck here with two platoons of combat-ready Amazons and a host of female personnel, male company was scarce at the best of times. The only time I ever got to see my brothers was when we were preparing the meals or doing our chores. After all, the men need to make themselves useful somehow while the warriors train.

As I walked through the small concrete corridor toward the command center, I noticed that more of the warriors were milling about in the halls than usual. The members of each of the two platoons we had in reserve were very distinct from each other in both appearance and function. The Guizhou Platoon was a 'traditional' battle group that came directly from one of the Amazon villages in China, and the Shaanxi Platoon being one of Cologne's specialized battle groups that were trained to use more modern weapons.

While there were more than a few prejudices shared between the two generations of warriors, the one unshakable thing they both shared was their devotion and loyalty to War-Captain Biyu.

I walked into the command center situated at the heart of the bunker. Waiting for me was the indomitable Captain herself. The room functioned as the nerve center for the entire bunker, and all of the surveillance and communications systems ran through it. Two engineers sat at large consoles in the far side of the room, while the Captain stood staring at the large screen in the center, standing straight with her arms clasped behind her back.

I stepped in front of the Captain and saluted.

"You wanted to see me ma'am?"

Finally, Captain Biyu tore her eyes away from the screen and faced me. She was tall for a Chinese woman, only a couple of inches shorter than myself. I found her to be an intimidating woman dressed in her field outfit: a dark green Amazon Battle Dress that allowed for maximum flexibility of movement rather than protection. Skill was the armor of the Amazons. However, she chose to don the engraved leather bracers of the Guizhou, as well as the kevlar vest that the members of the Shaanxi platoon wore, to set an example of unity and cooperation. It was a sentiment all of the warriors could appreciate. The only thing that differentiated her as an officer was the green silk choker she wore around her neck, decorated with a single jade teardrop. It was the mark of Cologne's hand-picked agents, tied around her neck by the True Matriarch herself.

A nod from the Captain was the only answer to my question.

"Casualty report." The Captain said tersely, obviously in business mode.

I looked at the clipboard I had in my hands and read from it. "Casualty reports indicate that there are zero dead or injured. The target was found approximately one-half mile from the command center."

Captain Biyu was taken aback by the news. "No casualties?

"No ma'am. The intruder was unconscious and undressed when we found him. Lieutenant Lan had him restrained on sight and is being brought to the holding facility as we speak."

Captain Biyu nodded, satisfied. "Do we have a positive ID on the prisoner? It's unusual for anyone to be wandering around this area."

"Not yet. The prisoner appeared to have multiple wounds of varying degrees, but nothing critical. We'll have a better idea of what we're dealing with when the doctor takes a look at him."

"Excellent. Let's go see the prisoner, shall we?" The Captain began walking out of the command center and toward the holding facility, and I followed wordlessly.

I couldn't help but admire Captain Biyu as I followed behind her. Her long black hair was bound in a tight ponytail that swished behind her as she walked, hovering just barely above her rump. My eyes naturally followed the curves of her body, and it was easy to see that she was in great shape. But of course, everyone under her command knew that she earned the rank of captain through her physical strength and skill, forged through years of harsh Amazonian conditioning. But it was her loyalty and superior cunning that earned her favor with the Matriarch, the green choker around her neck evidence enough.

We made good time through the base with most of the warriors still being debriefed after returning with a prisoner. Captain Biyu swiped her access card through the reader, and the thick steel door slid open that led to the improvised holding area.

The cell itself was nothing more than a concrete room with a single large Plexiglas window that took up most of the western wall. During World War Two it was used by Japanese scientists to isolate some of the more volatile and dangerous experiments, but now the only things in the room were a tiny cot and a pail. Also, the naked man lying on the floor, shackled and chained to the wall by his ankles. Standing in front of the window waiting for the captain, was Lieutenant Lan, leader of the Shaanxi Platoon.

She saluted to the taller Captain Biyu and stood at the ready.

"At ease, Lan. Your report." The Captain said.

Lan relaxed and spoke clearly and confidently. "At 1800 hours our sensors picked up a single male at the perimeter, moving toward our base. At 1804 I led three teams of warriors to intercept the target, however he appeared to have fallen unconscious sometime between when we first detected him and when my teams made contact. Upon further investigation, the male's clothes were in tatters and he was covered in lacerations and bruises. Our field medic determined the injuries to be non-fatal and I decided that the male was fit to be brought in for questioning."

Biyu nodded at Lan. "Well done Lan. Keep your teams on alert in case anyone comes looking for him. Dismissed."

Lan saluted again before leaving the room, leaving just myself and the captain. The captain held out her hand signaling me wait here while she walked to the single door that led into the cell. I watched as she approached the unmoving body of the prisoner and knelt beside him. All she had to do was turn his head and get a good look at his face, and I saw her eyes widen in shock. Quickly, she stood and backed away, stepping out of the room as quickly as possible.

When she came back into the room where I was waiting, I could see the maelstrom of emotions on her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Biyu moved to the glass window and put her hand to it, looking at the prisoner. "Do you know who that is, Hao? That's Ranma Saotome!"

I gasped and put my hand to my mouth. "Wait, _the_ Ranma Saotome? The sworn enemy of the Matriarch?"

"The same."

"I thought he disappeared somewhere in China after Joketsuzoku was destroyed."

"That's what I heard too. But apparently, he made it back to Japan in one piece."

Every bit of intelligence that we could get our hands on indicated that no one knew what happened to Ranma Saotome after the disastrous battle at the Amazon capital. There was a tense pause before Biyu spoke again.

"Hao, do you know what this means?" I saw her slowly start so slink toward me with a mischievous grin on her face.

The way she was approaching made me nervous so I stepped back until I felt my back hit the wall. "What does it mean ma'am?"

The shorter woman stopped right in front of me, close enough that I could feel her breath on my neck. "It means," she said, "that when we hand over Ranma Saotome to the Matriarch, beaten and bound in chains, we'll be heroes."

With that, I felt her grab the back of my head and roughly pressed her mouth to mine. I resisted at first, but gave in to the moist softness of her lips and kissed back. I felt her tongue flick across the outside of my lips, teasing me. Her hands began to roam, caressing my arms and chest and slowly moving down to my thighs. I instinctively moaned and let myself get caught up in her aggressive advances. When I felt her hand go down my pants, I grasped her arms and gently pushed her away, breaking the kiss.

"What are you doing?" I gasped, my voice still low and husky from our impromptu make out session.

The grin never fell from Biyu's beautiful face. "What? I can't celebrate with my husband when we get good news?" This time, she grabbed two handfuls of my shirt and pulled me down to her as she began kissing my neck.

My wife wanted me, and I've never been able to fully resist her when she tried to seduce me. Especially when she was this aggressive. "But wait, right now?"

She broke her kissing long enough to whisper in my ear. "Don't even try to resist. You're not strong enough."

A shiver went down my spine when I felt her warm breath on my earlobe, as well as a particular twitch below my belt. And yet, she brought up something of a sore point with me that inspired me to resist a little harder.

"Is that what you want, Biyu? Someone stronger?" I said, almost whining. I hated how weak I sounded to my own ears.

This time, she cupped both my cheeks and turned my head to lock gazes with her. She whispered so that only I could hear. "Hao, I don't give a damn about a strong husband. I chose you because you make me happy. Only you, my love."

I couldn't help but marvel. She knew exactly what to say to make me fall in love with her over and over again. I could feel my resolve crumbling, giving in to her overwhelming passion. This time, I kissed her gently on the lips.

"What about him?" I asked, gesturing toward the unconscious enemy of the Matriarch.

"If he wakes up, let him watch." And we kissed again. "Take off your pants. That's an order."

As soon as my hand flew to my belt buckle, alarm klaxons blared loudly and red warning lights flashed. We both looked around confused for a moment, before Biyu dragged me out of the room and we sprinted to the command center. We got there to find Lieutenant Lan and Lieutenant Nuan, leader of the Guizhou platoon, waiting for us.

"Report!" Biyu barked as soon as she entered the room. Up on the center display was a streaming video image from one of the perimeter cameras.

One of the engineers spoke up first. "A male just entered our perimeter, heading toward the bunker. He appears to be alone."

The image displayed a single figure walking across the open field on a beeline for the bunker's main entrance. His physique indicated a male, but the dusty traveling cloak made further identification impossible.

"Another male." Lan said. "At least this one seems to be healthy. For now."

This time I spoke up. "Maybe he followed Ranma Saotome."

It was uncommon and generally frowned upon for a man to speak up in the war room, even a captain's adjutant, but the others ignored it in light of what was said rather than who said it.

The two lieutenants turned to look at Biyu. "_The_ Ranma Saotome?"

She nodded at her subordinates. "The prisoner you brought back earlier Lan, has been positively identified as Ranma Saotome."

Lan frowned while Nuan cracked her knuckles. "Then who is that?"

"I don't know, but if he is following Saotome, then we need to capture him. Nuan, I want you and your warriors to subdue him before he gets into the bunker. Lan, I want four of your warriors to guard the prisoner, and you take the rest to support Nuan."

They both nodded obediently. "If he's hostile?"

"Do what's necessary, but we need him alive. Lan, that means nonlethal rounds."

With a salute they both left to prepare.

I stood to the side passively as the engineers passed along more information to Biyu. I stayed transfixed on the figure moving unerringly toward the bunker. While the video quality was nothing great, especially considering the less than stellar condition they were in, I couldn't help but notice something strange. When the wind blew just right, the figure's cloak swept up and revealed his hand, and the thing he held in it. A red bamboo umbrella. How strange that a man would hold an umbrella under a cloak, especially considering there wasn't a single dark cloud in the sky.

A few short minutes later and Nuan's Amazon warriors exited the bunker, armed with swords, spears, clubs, and various other martial weapons. The clothing they wore was a simple red and purple battle dress, designed for comfort and flexibility on the battlefield. Only a few wore armor, but those that did donned a boiled leather breastplate, bracers, and greaves with intricate Chinese designs engraved on them.

Lan's warriors played a different role. The few control rooms above ground were fashioned into miniature pillboxes, with rifles protruding from the thin viewing slit in the concrete. They all wore kevlar vests over their black and blue battle dress, as well as protection for their ears to defend against the sound of gunfire echoing in a tiny room.

Everyone else left in the command center waited tensely as Nuan and her warriors approached the cloaked figure. I stood behind Biyu as we watched what happened on the monitors, as well as receiving live audio from Nuan's comms. With Nuan leading her troops, she stopped a short distance from the cloaked man, and he did the same.

"Male!" Nuan yelled to the figure in heavily accented Japanese. "Surrender now and come quietly, or my girls won't be so gentle with you."

A few seconds passed in silence. Just as Nuan was about to shout out her warning again, the figure pulled back his hood. It was a man, but much younger than Nuan had expected, just barely out of boyhood. He was handsome for a Japanese male, in a roguish sort of way. His hair fell forward just obscuring his eyes and there was a thin layer of grime on his skin, but his most prominent feature was easily the fang poking out of one side of his mouth.

"I'm here for Ranma Saotome." The man said.

Nuan smiled. "Surrender, and maybe you'll get your chance to meet him."

The man shook his head. "I can't do that either. For your own good, I suggest you let Ranma go."

"Then we will have to take you by force. Attack!" Nuan and her warriors yelled out a vicious shrieking battle cry and the warriors charged.

The man grabbed his cloak and ripped it off himself, tossing it into the oncoming rush of amazons. He was dressed in worn brown hiking boots and thick black pants that had a few rips and holes in it. He wore a sleeveless black shirt that showed off his muscular right arm, but his left arm from shoulder to fingertip appeared to be wrapped in white bandages. He hefted his red umbrella and dashed to meet the mob of armed women.

While her warriors attacked the interloper, Nuan disengaged herself and answered the comm that was coming through from Captain Biyu.

Static crackled for a moment before the message became clear. "-etreat! Nuan do you read?"

"Say again Captain?" Nuan crouched and covered both her ears, trying to block out the sound of combat just a short distance away.

Biyu yelled into the comm more urgent than Nuan had ever hear her. "That man is Ryoga Hibiki! Do _not_ engage Nuan, he's too strong. Retreat to the bunker immediately!"

Nuan looked up to the battle, and her eyes widened in horror. A whole half of her warriors lay unmoving on the ground in the short time she had shifted her attention. Ryoga Hibiki, the infamous Lost One, was laying waste to her platoon of veteran amazons. What shocked her most though, was that when she tried to read his ki, it was only slightly stronger than that of a regular person. And yet…

Ryoga was a blur of movement, even to Nuan's trained eye. In his right hand he wielded his red combat umbrella, and in his bandaged left hand he held a black belt that straightened to become as hard and sharp as steel. The Lost One blocked the broadsword of one of the warriors with his belt sword while he kicked hard into the woman's exposed midsection. The amazon was blasted away by the force. With a simple twist of his wrist, the red umbrella in his right hand fanned open and deflected a spear tip and a few throwing knives. He thrust forward with his umbrella, the ribs of the weapon automatically closing from the speed of the thrust as it buried itself in the gut of another amazon. He ducked under the swing of a halberd behind him, and with sword in hand, rose back up to deliver a destructive uppercut into the jaw of another.

In the time it took Nuan to reach her warriors, she stood alone against the apparently unscathed Ryoga Hibiki. Fear had no place in the heart of an amazon, or so they had been taught. And yet, fear is what kept her frozen in place as the Lost One approached.

Her comm buzzed to life in her ear, shocking her out of her stasis.

"Nuan! Get out of there! Nuan!"

It was the last thing she heard before a spinning kick connected with her temple.

There was an eerie silence that settle over the command center. Captain Biyu and I, even the engineers, were dumbstruck by the display we had all just witnessed. An entire platoon of veteran amazon warriors was just obliterated in moments by a single male. When everyone in the room looked at the Captain, she composed herself immediately.

"Lock down the entire facility, full alert status. I want all non-essential personnel to go immediately to the bomb shelter. Get Lan on comm. I want all of her warriors to switch to hollow point rounds. We already have Ranma Saotome alive, and Hibiki is too dangerous to try and capture. They must not be allowed to meet, do you understand? Shoot to kill."

The engineers yelled a quick "Yes ma'am" and carried out her orders.

"What about me?" I asked. After quickly looking around, Biyu grabbed my arm and dragged me to the hallway just outside the command center.

"Hao, listen to me." She said softly, making sure there was no one else around to hear. "I don't know if we'll make it through this."

"What? But Lan's warriors are still out there, and they're armed with guns. Even Hibi-"

Biyu quickly cut me off. "There's no guarantee they'll work against him. We only have one combat platoon left, and Hibiki faced much worse odds than this in China. And not only that…"

I could see the apprehension on Biyu's face, and it worried me.

"This isn't the first of our cells that have been destroyed by Hibiki."

I didn't want to believe what my beloved wife was telling me, but after witnessing for myself how strong Hibiki was, I had no choice but to agree. "Then we have to run! Or give him Saotome!"

An angry scowl grew on Biyu's face. "Did I really hear you just suggest that? We are Amazons! We don't run from any enemy, and the only thing worse than death is a life lived in the embrace of cowardice! And if the Matriarch learns that we handed over her trophy just to save our lives, she would have us killed on the spot!"

I could see the logic in her argument and how much she believed it. She would die for the cause. "Alright then." I said. "What do you want me to do?"

Biyu put her hand on my chest and felt my heartbeat. It was something she did to comfort herself whenever she had a feeling something bad was going to happen.

"Husband, I want you to go to the bomb shelter with the others. Since everyone there is a non-combatant you'll be the highest ranking officer there. You need to keep them safe."

"But I'm just a male! They won't listen to me."

My wife reached behind her and undid the green choker that she had treasured so much. Cologne's Mark. It was a symbol of everything she fought for and believed in. Just once she touched the jade teardrop woven into the fabric before placing it into my hand.

"Show them this and they'll listen. Go now and make sure they're safe." She turned to head back to the command center, but I grabbed her arm and turned her to face me. Biyu looked like she was about to say something, but I intercepted her by planting a kiss on her lips.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

I watched as the door to the command center closed behind her. Just as I was about to move toward the bomb shelter, an explosion rocked the bunker. I stumbled and braced myself against the wall while dust and pebbles shook loose. Lan's platoon wasn't armed with explosives powerful enough to rock the whole bunker. It must have been Hibiki who caused the explosion. Looking at Biyu's choker in my hand, it represented the orders she gave and the trust she had in me to carry them out.

Unfortunately, my priorities were different.

I sprinted down the corridor dodging or shoving aside anyone that got in my way. I heard people yelling at me to head to the bomb shelter, but I paid them no heed. I made my way to the holding facility as fast as my legs would carry me. I needed to get there before Hibiki broke through Lan's defenses. It could be difficult to get past the four guards that Lan posted at Saotome's cell, but considering we were under attack I didn't expect them to question me too much.

I swiped my access card and the door to cell slid open. The first thing I saw was four rifles pointed in my direction, and I knew the amazons wielding them were just a twitch a way from filling me with holes. Immediately my hands went up in the air.

"Wait! It's me!"

The four riflemen lowered their weapons. Their leader, a corporal who's name I didn't know, spoke up. "You're the Captain's adjutant. What are you doing here?"

"I was sent to warn you. Ryoga Hibiki is here, and he's coming for the prisoner."

The four warriors looked around at each other worriedly. "The Lost One?"

Another explosion rocked the bunker, all of us stumbling to regain our footing. "Yes the Lost One! You've been ordered to escort everyone left on the base to the bomb shelter."

"What about the prisoner? And why haven't we heard directly from Lieutenant Lan?" The corporal asked.

While running to the holding cell I formulated a lie that I hoped sounded convincing. "Hibiki knocked out our comms, so I was sent to tell you in person. I've been ordered to watch the prisoner until the captain gets here herself."

She was silent for a moment. The corporal nodded to the other women and they ran out while she spared one last look at the unconscious Saotome. "Are you armed?" She asked me.

"No."

"Then here." She unholstered her sidearm and presented it to me with the grip facing outward. "Just in case."

I took the pistol and its weight felt comforting in my hand. "Thanks. I'll be careful."

A moment later and Saotome and I were alone in the room. I silently thanked the corporal again for giving me the tool I needed. With the pistol in my right hand, and Biyu's choker in my left, I stepped into the room where Saotome was still shackled to the floor. I stared at the naked man at my feet. So helpless. It was hard to believe that I had the power to end the life of the man that rallied the Amazon's enemies against them. The man that Cologne, the Matriarch herself had failed to kill on multiple occasions. At my mercy was the man who shattered our dream of the Amazon Nation.

I couldn't believe that this was the same Ranma Saotome that my beloved Biyu feared, and yet inexplicably admired. But I saw it, just looking at his bare form. His toned physique was impeccable, and the multitude of fading scars across his entire body was a testament to the battles won and lost. It was the proof of his strength. The strength that I knew Biyu secretly wanted in her man, no matter how much she denied it. But it was the one thing I couldn't give her. However, I knew that my own jealousy and insecurity was such a small thing compared to the task before me.

All throughout the war in China I had never taken a life. Biyu wouldn't have liked that. But the most important thing was that I had to save my wife, and to do that, Saotome's life had to end. I took aim.

Gripping the green choker tightly, I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger.

The gunshot was almost deafening in the confined space of the room and my ears rang from the sound. Slowly I opened my eyes fully expecting to see a gaping hole in Saotome's skull and blood on the walls. Instead, all I saw was a tiny piece of lead embedded in the concrete. And Saotome was awake.

He was in a crouched on all fours in a position that didn't seem entirely comfortable with his back hunched. He seemed to be paying no attention to me. Instead he contented himself with licking the wounds on his arms, apparently not caring at all that he was naked or chained to a wall. Not to mention there was a man with a gun who just tried to kill him.

"S…Saotome?" I stuttered out, backing away slowly.

He cocked his head as if noticing me for the first time. "Mrrow?"

Still on all fours, he began padding toward me slowly until the length of chain around his ankle ran short. Saotome looked at the chain and hissed angrily in a way that didn't sound entirely human. With his fingers curled, he merely swiped his front knuckles against shackle around his ankle. I felt myself gape as the shackle just split into three uneven pieces and fell to the ground.

I pointed the gun at Saotome again.

"Stay back! I'll shoot!" I heard the panic in my own voice.

Undeterred, Saotome kept advancing. As soon as my finger twitched, he pounced faster than I could possibly react. I fell on my back and felt a massive weight on my chest. I looked up to see Saotome crouched over me, staring at me straight in the eye with his face mere inches away from mine. I didn't see anything recognizable in his gaze, only a strange curiosity that was centered on me. I felt him put a curled hand on my left shoulder.

I screamed as he raked his hand down and across my chest. There was a moment of blinding pain, then warmth as blood gushed out of the wound and soaked my clothes.

"Mrrow?"

"Fire!"

From behind me I heard the sweet sound of an automatic rifle spewing hot lead. Saotome jumped back to avoid the shots, and I lost track of him when I felt two hands slide underneath my shoulders to drag me away. With my legs trailing limply, I saw Lieutenant Lan firing on Saotome from outside the entrance to his cell. Through the glass I could see that Saotome was somehow dodging the bullets from an incredibly close range with a series of short and simple, but unbelievably quick weaves. With both hands Saotome swiped at the glass and it split just as easily as the shackles had, before he jumped through it.

Whoever was dragging me just entered the hallway before I heard Lan shout from the room. "Go! I'll hold him off!"

"No, Lan!" My savior yelled back.

I saw the lieutenant slam her hand on the button that shut the cell door, trapping her and Saotome in the room. I finally tilted my head back to look at my savior. Biyu. My wife had saved me. A moment of horror flooded my senses, realizing that not only had I failed to kill Saotome, but I disobeyed a direct order from her.

A few tense moments later and she managed to drag me into the empty mess hall which was adjacent to where Lan and Saotome were fighting. Biyu propped me against the wall as gently as she could and moved to kneel next to me. Instead of the angry, disgusted look I expected to see on her face, all I saw was worry. I loved her so much. She ripped off her kevlar vest and pressed it forcefully to my chest.

"Hao! Don't go to sleep! Stay with me!" she yelled at as she continued pressing both her hands into my chest. I fought the drowsiness as best I could, and concentrated on my Biyu to give me focus. I could see that there was a gash on her forehead that trickled blood down the side of her face, as well as a fair amount of dust that caked her head and shoulders.

"Hao, I need to get the medical kit in the kitchen. You need to stay awake until I get back." She put a bloody hand to my cheek. "Can you do that for me?"

I nodded as best I could.

Biyu cast me a reassuring smile before she stood and sprinted out of my sight. The temptation to close my eyes was almost overwhelming, but I had to stay awake, if only to see her one more time. I could feel my breathing begin to slow and my heart pounded in my ears.

An explosion shook the bunker knocking trays and cups off the tables. Then another explosion. Then another. The explosions were getting much more frequent, and closer. Another explosion.

I heard a strange muffled voice from somewhere, although I was sure I was alone in the room. Another explosion. And again another explosion. I heard the muffled voice again, this time I could make out the words.

"Bakusai Tenketsu!"

The concrete ceiling caved in and stone and dirt poured into the center of the mess hall, only a short distance away. The long benches crumpled under the weight of it all, and the fluorescent lights flickered rapidly. I coughed painfully as a small cloud of dust wafted in all directions around the cave in. When the dust cleared I saw Ryoga Hibiki standing just a few feet from me, red umbrella in hand. There were a few tears in his clothing and the bandages that completely covered his left arm were only slightly frayed. Aside from what looked like a shallow cut on his right arm he seemed none the worse for wear.

He walked toward me casually, and in my helplessness I could do nothing but watch him approach. He stopped at my feet and loomed over me, the flickering lights serving only to make him more intimidating.

To my surprise, the Lost One spoke in almost perfect mandarin. "Ranma did that to you, didn't he? He's awake... I can feel him. I told you it was for your own good to let him go."

Hibiki didn't wait for a response. Instead he turned and started inspecting the tables in the mess hall. I boggled at this strange behavior. Though I was glad he decided not to put me out of my misery, every moment he was in the mess hall ran the risk of Biyu coming back while he was still here.

Finding what he wanted with an 'aha!' Hibiki picked up a discarded thermos. He emptied its soupy contents on the ground and began filling it with water from the few glasses that were still upright. Once it was filled, he screwed the cap back on and sauntered over to me.

I took a deep breath and fought the pain in my chest. It woke me up. "You can't win Hibiki."

"You know who I am, huh?" He chuckled amusedly. "We won in China. Cologne is finished."

"That's where you're wrong. I don't care about Cologne or her cause, but I've seen her power. You can't beat her."

The Lost One merely grinned. "You're right, I can't beat her yet, in a one-on-one fight anyway. But I won't stop. _We_ won't stop until we've had our revenge. I promise you: Cologne will fall."

A shout echoed from behind Hibiki. "Get away from him!"

The man lifted his arm to block a flying roundhouse kick that was aimed to shatter his neck. He hopped back a few steps to gain some distance, but Biyu continued her offensive. She let go with a double sweep combination that impacted Hibiki's shins, but didn't seem to faze him. Biyu planted both her hands on the ground and lifted herself to deliver an axe kick from a handstand. When Hibiki dodged it she threw herself into a forward somersault and extended her legs into a dropkick. Both of Biyu's feet impacted on Ryoga's chest and he was thrown back and over a table.

I would have cheered if I could.

My warrior wife got to her feet and concentrated. Slowly but surely a bright orange aura manifested itself around her. I could feel her power reverberate around me. She brought her hands together, and when they separated a small orb of energy was suspended between her palms. Not waiting for her opponent to recover, she shot her hands forward and released the concentrated energy.

"Yamasun Huozai!" (2*)

A thick lance of ki shot out from her palms and careened toward Hibiki. The table that stood between them was blasted apart, the parts that actually touched the energy bursting into flames. An explosion rocked the mess hall. I saw Biyu's eyes narrow when the smoke cleared to reveal Hibiki crouched behind his open bamboo umbrella, the fabric steaming but undamaged.

He closed his umbrella and held it out like a fencers foil, finally taking a fighting stance. He made the first move and thrust his umbrella over and over in rapid succession. Even with the physical enhancements of her manifested battle aura, Biyu was having trouble dodging the weapon. With every forward thrust, a heavy gust of wind buffeted her face and forced her to squint her eyes. When he pulled back every thrust of the umbrella, an equally heavy gale pressed against her back threatening to pull her even closer. Biyu knew she was in trouble.

Ducking under a particularly heavy thrust, she touched her hand to the ground.

"Bakusai Tenketsu!"

Even Hibiki was surprised by the technique. The dust cloud she created up gave her the cover she needed. She threw a quick snap kick into his wrist that knocked the umbrella out of his right hand. Concentrating and condensing her ki into her left hand, Biyu swung downward with a sharp knife hand. They were both blinded by the dust, but as soon as she felt her hand make contact she released all of the ki in her hand. Another violent explosion shook the mess hall and cleared the obscuring cloud that surrounded them.

Biyu gasped. Her hand was caught by Ryoga's bandaged left, and it looked like she did no more damage than to singe the white cloth. With her arm caught in his left, against his superior strength she was trapped. Hibiki swung his free right hand into her gut, knocking the wind out of her. Still holding her up with his left hand he kept her from falling from the blow. He removed his fist from her stomach and closed in around her throat, lifting her up one handed.

While I sat against the wall, nothing more than a useless bystander, I prayed to any and all deities that would hear my plea to have Biyu come out of this alive. I choked on my own sobs as I watched my lover dangle helplessly from Hibiki's grasp. My fists clenched and I could feel Biyu's choker in my left hand.

And I could feel the pistol still in my right.

While being dragged out of Saotome's cell, I had a death grip on that choker. Even if I didn't notice, it looked like my right hand followed suit. When I saw the gun was still loaded and ready to fire, a sliver of hope had returned. With the little strength I had, I lifted my hand and took aim.

I fired.

Hibiki lifted his bandaged left hand as if to block the bullet and I fully expected the gesture to be useless. What I did not expect was the sound of metal on metal as the bullet ricocheted off his open palm. I could see Biyu's eyes widen in surprise as well. Immediately, Hibiki turned to look at the far wall, alarmed. He tossed Biyu in my direction and she slid across the floor painfully, stopping almost right next to me. She was conscious, but barely. I leaned forward to grasp her hand in mine.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hibiki retrieve his umbrella and take a fighting stance facing the wall, his back turned to me. I contemplated taking another shot at him, but didn't have the time when the wall he was facing collapsed. It collapsed strangely in chunks, as if it was merely a wall of building blocks that was pushed over.

Through the hole Ranma Saotome padded in, still on all fours and naked. This time, there was blood splattered all over his bare skin. As soon as Saotome spotted Hibiki, his eyes narrowed and let out a deep guttural growl. Then came the aura. A shockwave centered around Saotome burst forth, throwing all of the debris and stones around him outward. When I looked back, Saotome was bathed in an aura of crimson and black. While most battle aura's maintained a static distance and form, Saotome's whirled around him violently and burned like an inferno. I could see the air warp around him from the heat.

Hibiki spoke, breaking the hypnotic awe I felt watching Saotome. Looking at the Lost One, he didn't appear cowed in the least. "Beast. You felt me coming didn't you, hunting you down? I know what you are."

"Grrrrow!"

The Lost One's voice was dark, and full of intent. It made me shiver at the sound of it. "Know this: I can feel you, no matter where you go. You can't escape, and I will kill you."

With that, Hibiki grabbed two large slabs of concrete and hurled them at the beast. Ranma swiped his hands again, and this time, black blades of ki shot forth and obliterated the airborne stones. With him distracted, Hibiki picked something up off the ground and threw it as well. Saotome swiped at it, but it was much closer than the rocks and the ki blades didn't shoot out. The thrown thermos that Hibiki filled earlier split into three, momentum carrying the cold water forward and splashing the flame-wreathed beast.

Where there was once a naked young man, there was now a naked young woman. The girl sank to her hands and knees gasping in shock and shivering violently.

Hibiki dashed forward and knelt by the redhead, touching her gently on the shoulder. "Ranma! Ranma! Can you hear me?"

I watched in mute fascination, Hibiki surely forgetting about us already.

The naked woman seemed frozen in place until she looked up at Ryoga, recognition slowly filling her eyes. She looked down at her naked body and hands, and the blood that covered them. Ranma Saotome screamed.

Ryoga quickly wrapped her in a tight hug and put her head to his chest. Even in the dim lighting I could see that she was shaking like a leaf as she slowly started to sob. Gently rocking back and forth, Hibiki gently whispered to her.

"It's ok Ranma, you're safe. You're you again, it's ok."

Slowly, she found her voice again. "R…Ryoga. I- I can't control it. It keeps on killing people. _I_ keep on killing people. There's s-so much blood."

She grasped his shirt with both her hands and look up at him, tears pouring down her cheeks. "Ryoga, you have to kill me. You're the only one who can. Please."

"Ranma…"

"Please! Please Ryoga! I've already hurt her so much. Hurt so many people. I need to die before… I'm gone. I'm fading Ryoga." The desperation in her voice was heart wrenching.

Ryoga was stern, looking at the redhead in his arms. "No Ranma, I'm not going to kill you. We can get it out of you, and we can kill it. It can't escape me. Besides," he said in a more uplifting tone, "You're Ranma Saotome. You don't lose. Not to anyone, especially not to this thing."

"But… what if I'm not-"

"You're strong enough. Who else is more qualified to tell you that than your eternal rival?"

Ranma let out a sound that was something like a cross between a sob and a giggle.

"And when this thing is dead, I'm gonna go back to kicking you ass, pork-butt."

"Well… we'll just see about that." Gently, Ryoga lifted her up on to her feet and she stumbled like she was remembering how to stand. She finally stood up on her own, before the entire bunker started rumbling.

"Uh, Ranma, let's get out of here. I may have blown up a few too many of the walls. This place is coming down."

The much shorter girl looked crossly at him for a moment, before it became an amused smile. "Fine, let's go. But I need some clothes."

"Later, let's get out of here."

"Up?"

"Up."

They both jumped up through the hole that Ryoga made coming down. I was left alone with an unconscious Biyu in a collapsing bunker. I moved to nudge her shoulder when I felt a sharp pain at the top of my head.

* * *

**The Present**

**Niuchezu Dynamics Inc. Headquarters**

"And that's the last thing I remember before a rock fell on my head and I lost consciousness. The next thing I know, I was being carried away on a stretcher by one of our sweeper teams that came to investigate the communications blackout."

"Aiyah."

"Wow."

"So something bad really did happen to Ranma." The rugged girl said. Kasumi was her name, Hao had learned.

He shrugged as best he could, still bound tightly in his chair. "I suppose. I heard that Saotome was powerful even before the war; Hibiki too. But even a highly decorated warrior like Biyu had never seen anything like what Saotome had done. It's like he wasn't even human until the Jusenkyo curse snapped him out of it."

Shampoo walked up to Hao with her arms crossed and glared down at him imposingly, the scar running down past her neck serving only to make her more intimidating. "Where is base that Ranma and Ryoga supposedly break out of?"

"It's in Yokohama; an abandoned research facility."

"Are the Amazon's still using it?"

Hao shook his head. "It was too badly damaged to be of any more use. The entire place practically crumbled in on itself."

"At least we have some place to start looking. This is the only confirmed sighting of either of those boys since China." Kasumi said, a smile on her face. "Is there anything more you can tell us Mr. Hao?"

Hao couldn't help but be amused at how polite the beautiful young woman was, despite her rough appearance. "I'm afraid not. I was a mere captain's adjutant in a small sleeper cell. Besides, being a male I'm not allowed anywhere near vitally sensitive information."

Shampoo turned to the last girl in the room; the short haired one who hadn't spoken up much. "Nabiki, are there any last questions you want to ask him?"

"Just one." She said from sitting behind her large desk. "Hao, what was your cell doing in Yokohama? By our reports, the Amazon insurgents have always stayed away from that part of Japan."

"We were responsible for monitoring the progress of one Dr. Tofu Ono."

Kasumi gasped loudly. "Dr. Tofu? What was he doing in Yokohama?"

"I don't know."

Shampoo let out a weary sigh. "Of course you don't. But I think the only reason they need so many warriors is to kill him. Guards!"

From outside Nabiki's office, two large security guards dressed in black business suits entered.

"Take him away."

"What would you have us do with him ma'am?" One of the guards asked.

Shampoo thought for a moment. "Give him to the men. Maybe they get him to tell more."

She smiled when she saw the fear in Hao's eyes. The guards proceeded to take him by the arms, still bound, and carried him out of the office.

Moments later the three women stood alone in Nabiki's office.

"I'm going." Kasumi said.

Nabiki looked up at her taller sister. "Going? Where?"

"Yokohama. I want to see the ruins Hao spoke of myself. Maybe we can find out where Ranma and Ryoga went."

Nabiki looked skeptical. "You want to go to the bunker that Ranma and Ryoga destroyed six _months_ ago? What clues could you possibly find there?"

"I'm going too." The two other girls looked at Shampoo, who seemed to be fairly deep in thought. "If what Hao say is true, they used ki in the fight. Ki is much easier trail to follow than footprints."

"And with the ki that those two boys give off, they would probably be easy to find as long as we have a starting point."

"That's right! Besides… I want to see if we can find Dr. Tofu." Kasumi idly put a hand to her stomach. Only Nabiki knew the significance of the gesture, but mirrored the haunted look in her eyes at the mention of his name.

"I can have the chopper fueled and ready to go within minutes."

Kasumi hugged her sister fondly. "I… we appreciate this Nabiki."

"Hey, I'm only doing this as long as you keep me informed of what's happening. I may have some information that can help you out once you're there. And Shampoo, do you really think it's a good idea to just start moving around so casually after your 'death'?"

Shampoo yawned and stretched, unintentionally catlike in her manner. "No I think it's a good idea I go. Everyone still thinks I dead and won't be looking for me. Besides, I don't want to go back to the Great Palace in China. Ruling is so boring. I want to go with Kasumi and find the boys."

Nabiki shrugged. "Fine, but you should probably try to hide your appearance some way. Your hair is a dead giveaway."

She looked thoughtfully at her own violet locks while Kasumi also fiddled with her grimy hair. "Shampoo, since we're going to be travelling together, I was hoping I could ask you a few questions."

"Questions?"

"For my book. You know a lot about what happened before the war and I was hoping you could share some things."

After a moment's consideration the Amazon nodded. "Yes, much happened and was confusing in the beginning. I share what I know."

Kasumi smiled widely. Getting a firsthand account from the New Matriarch would be an invaluable puzzle piece to figuring out what happened from all sides. Not to mention she got to do the interview while investigating the first sighting of Ranma and Ryoga in the last six months. Also, somehow Dr. Tofu figured into the mix with the Amazons.

This guaranteed to be an interesting trip.

**End Chapter 3**

* * *

A/N

Finally, Ranma and Ryoga make an appearance! I plan to be using them a lot more in the future now that they've been introduced. There's a lot of information mentioned between multiple timelines, so I'm hoping things aren't too confusing just yet. Hao turned out to be a much bigger character than I had originally planned (went from a mere mention to a whole chapter from his POV!) but he's a good excuse to explore the gender role reversal of the amazon society.

(1*): This entire scene - The dialogue is in _Mandarin_ for the most part. However I personally hate using {" "} for more than a few sentences of dialogue so I've decided to make a note of it instead of putting all of the quotes in curly brackets.

(2*): Yamasun Huozai - "Amazon Fire" according to Google Translator. Now be aware, I like to name my original techniques. Since I'm going to be going with the original Japanese names for the canon techniques (Shi Shi Hokodan, Hiryu Shoten Ha, etc.) I thought it would be strange to have some in English and some in Japanese (or Chinese as the situation calls for it). From now on I'll have a summary of the original techniques used at the end of the chapter.

Yamasun Huozai (Amazon Fire) - An advanced ki-blast taught to high level Amazon fighters. By continuously stimulating the energy while it's still contained in a sphere, it generates a "hot" blast instead of the strictly concussive force of most vanilla ki-blasts.


	5. Training Day

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½ in any capacity. All associated characters, locations, gimmicks, and curses are property of Rumiko Takahashi.

**Chronology:** The _Present_ takes place three years after the end of the manga, and the "Jusenkyo Conflict" in China has more-or-less officially ended.

**Language Note:** {" "} Indicates dialogue spoken in Mandarin

A/N at the end with (*#) explanations. Ctrl + F if you can't wait.

* * *

**The Brave May Fall**

By figurefour

**Chapter 4: **Training Day

"_On the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow."_

_- Friedrich Nietzsche_

I couldn't help but smile at the thousands of lights that illuminated the city below me. I had only seen Tokyo from this high once before, and I remember smiling the same way too. It made everything and everyone seem so small; even the largest problems seemed to get lost in the grandness of it all. In the EC-155 transport helicopter that Nabiki requisitioned for us, the thirteen passenger seats in the cabin were empty save Shampoo and myself, and Shirokuro who lay sleeping at my feet. We were on our way to Yokohama in hopes of finding clues as to where Ranma and Ryoga might have gone off to.

It may be a long shot, but even then it was the only lead we've had in months.

I looked at Shampoo sitting on the other side of the helicopter staring out at the city below, just as I had been doing. She was so different compared to the exotic violet-haired beauty that abruptly entered our lives just a few short years ago. It was hard to believe that when they had first met, she was a surprisingly innocent, yet cunning girl who would do almost anything to get what she wanted. And now, she had grown to be the beloved Matriarch of an entire culture. An impressive feat for anyone so young, but in the eyes of her subjects it was not a title that she was given, but one she earned. That distinction made all the difference in the world, most of all to her.

"Kasumi," She said, catching my attention. "How long did the pilot say until we get there?"

"I think Takezo said about thirty minutes. We'll be landing directly at the base so maybe a little more than that."

"Okay. You sure I need to wear this? Is uncomfortable." She said, shifting around in her new clothes.

I nodded to her. "Nabiki suggested it, and I think it's a good idea. It would be bad news if anyone recognized you. At least she had clothes that fit you."

"She say the free advertising helps too." She said, looking down at her brand new t-shirt. "At least they won't be looking at my face too much."

While Shampoo had a certain fondness for cheongsam's and traditional Chinese clothing, she was given more casual street clothes to wear in public. To avoid standing out she had changed into a pair of blue shorts and an unnecessarily tight t-shirt that had a large Niuchezu Dynamics logo emblazoned above her chest. She had also trimmed her hair before leaving to avoid being recognized as the leader she was. She toyed with her violet locks idly, still fidgety over her change in hairstyle. I knew she took pride in the uniqueness of her hair, and the part it played in her public identity as Matriarch.

I bent down and scratched Shirokuro behind the ears, and she scooted closer to my feet and pressed up against my legs. Her coat was so soft and lustrous after Nabiki had some of her errand boys give the large dog a bath after the little scuffle at the hospital. Her incredibly acute sense of smell would no doubt come in handy when the time came to picking up the boys' trail. Besides, when it came to tracking down a Hibiki, Shirokuro was second to none.

Checking how long until we got to our destination, I figured now was as good a time as any.

"Shampoo?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think we could do the interview now?"

After some consideration, she nodded and moved to the seat across from mine. She stopped to pat Shirokuro on the head as well. I knew that she and the dog didn't get along when they first met considering Shampoo's cat curse, but they had long since mended whatever animal instinct divided them.

"So what do you want to know?" She asked.

I pulled out the micro-recorder out of my bag and held it in the short space between us. "I want to know how the whole war in China started. We all know how your great-grandmother was involved, but what about you?"

Shampoo snickered at the memory.

"I remember it well because it was all very strange. Great-grandmother asked me and Mousse to go to Juuban and get her a supposed magical item. Turns out the whole thing was a diversion. We returned three days later, but we found the Nekohanten destroyed…"

* * *

**Three Years Ago**

**Nekohanten**

"That's what I'm saying Shampoo!" Mousse exclaimed, trying to keep up with Shampoo who insisted on crossing her arms and turning away from whatever direction Mousse was talking to her from. "That thing never existed in the first place!"

"But great-grandmother never wrong, so I no ask her about it!" She yelled back, still refusing to meet his gaze. "Why she send us to Juuban to find magic item that no exist?"

"I don't know, but that's no excuse for you wrecking _seven_ magic shops trying to find it."

"If great-grandmother want this 'Moon Tiara', then I find it for her. Would have been easy if too too stupid shop owner told Shampoo it from cartoon great-grandmother likes." In her hands she fiddled with the cheap plastic-wrapped tiara she ended up buying from a toy store. At least it was better than showing up empty handed.

Mousse sighed. He was getting nowhere with her. Even as a prank, Cologne would never have sent her precious Shampoo on some fool's errand like that. Him maybe, but not Shampoo. The old crone must have wanted them out of the restaurant for some reason.

As they approached the Nekohanten from the street, he saw why.

All of the front-facing windows had been blown outwards, the glass shards littering the street in front of the restaurant. It looked like a few of the other stores in the area had suffered similar damage, with most of the shops along the strip having made makeshift coverings for their windows. However, the Nekohanten was the only one with caution tape over their doors.

"Aiyah! Great-grandmother!" Shampoo squealed, before she dashed into the open doors of the shop with Mousse following behind her.

The interior was a mess.

In the main dining area of the restaurant most of the tables and chairs had been knocked over, and some lay in splinters from whatever had caused the damage. They also noticed a good portion of the decorations around the restaurant were missing. Considering the exposed state of the dining area, they would have guessed that it was all stolen. And thefts meant that no one had been in the restaurant for at least a few days.

Shampoo walked through the kitchen area and gasped. Where there had once been a large and well-kept kitchen, now a huge hole had opened up in the center exposing the basement underneath. Looking down, it was easy to see that there was an explosion of some kind. The center of the concrete floor was covered in a large black scorch mark that expanded outward, and it appeared that all of the shelving had been blown to bits.

"Great-grandmother!" Shampoo yelled, hoping she would get a response.

She turned and sprinted out of the kitchen and up the stairs to where their bedrooms were. She shoulder checked the second door on the left, smashing through the triple bolt-lock only to find Cologne's room empty and apparently undisturbed. The only thing that caught her eye was a single piece of folded parchment laid on Cologne's bed. As she picked it up, she saw a green wax seal on it depicting a single teardrop.

She broke the seal and read the letter.

Mousse walked up the stairs and leaned against the doorway, looking confused and annoyed. "It looks like both of our rooms have been sacked. The only things still there are our bed frames. How am I going to replace all of those weapons? Most of my collection was in the closet. What's that Shampoo?"

After she finished, Shampoo practically crumpled when she sat on the bed. "Is from great-grandmother."

"Really?" He said and joined her on the bed. "What does it say?"

"It say… she go back to China. It also say that I be tested."

"What do you mean tested?"

"It not clear. Just say that Shampoo's spirit and loyalty to Amazon nation be tested."

Mousse gently pulled the letter out of her hands and read it. "Yup. That's what it says. Do you have any idea what that means?"

"No, great-grandmother say nothing about test. Now she's gone. Maybe this part of test?"

He paused. "I don't know, maybe. Maybe there's someone else who could tell us what happened here?"

Shampoo stood quickly from the bed, excited. "Yes! I ask airen what happen to great-grandmother!"

"Okay, I'll-" Mousse never finished his sentence before Shampoo bolted out of the room. "-stay here and clean…" he finished lamely.

As soon as Shampoo made it out the doors of the Nekohanten she slowed to a walk, glad to finally be out of Mousse's somewhat oppressive presence. Now she could think in peace.

What did it all mean? Cologne sent both her and Mousse on an utterly useless and time-consuming errand, but it must have been for some purpose. And when they did finally return, the only thing they came home to was a destroyed and looted restaurant, and that mysterious letter.

Shampoo supposed that she should have been more worried about the explosion that apparently shook up the entire street, but it was obvious (at least to her) that it wasn't just some bomb that caused the damage. It was caused by a ki attack of some sort. The area practically reeked of energy, and if some sort of fight really did take place, she was confident that her great-grandmother came out on top. But did that somehow relate to the mysterious 'test' that was mentioned in the letter? She supposed there was no choice but to assume so.

Among the Amazons, there were no written tests or exams. That meant only one thing: combat.

Since winning the village tournament at sixteen, she won the privilege to be trained personally by the strongest amazon in Joketsuzoku. That amazon was Cologne, and Shampoo had never sought training from any other master ever since. If her great-grandmother was about to test her, she needed to find someone stronger than herself to train with. She went through the list.

Ideally her airen would do his husbandly duty and assist in her time of need, but Shampoo had no illusions about Ranma. He wouldn't help her with anything unless he was forced to, and it was usually her great-grandmother who came up with those plans. Sometimes it was frustrating to know she was engaged to such a blockhead, regardless of how strong he was.

While she was reluctantly willing to put aside her differences with the fiancée brigade if it meant getting stronger, she doubted there was anything she could learn from Akane, Ukyou, or that insane gymnast and not-really-a-fiancée Kodachi. Mousse was out of the question since his style was vastly different from hers, and he would most likely try to ask her out on dates instead of training her anyway. Stick boy Kuno, though she had to admit he was skilled with his chosen weapon, outside of that he was pretty much useless. Konatsu's kunoichi arts were too esoteric. Mr. Saotome and Mr. Tendo would never teach an Amazon their Anything-Goes style. She would never go near Happosai, even without her great-grandmother's warnings…

Really, the only people who were qualified to teach her anything was Ranma and-

The idiot to her left.

Sitting under the shade of a tree in the vacant lot was Ryoga Hibiki, lost boy extraordinaire. Next to him was a pitched canvas tent and a small fire with a tea kettle suspended over it. He seemed to be sewing up some garment in his hands and completely distracted from the world around him. But knowing him, his danger sense was probably still on full alert considering he was still in Nerima.

Of anyone in Nerima, Ryoga was the only one her airen had ever openly acknowledged as a rival. She had seen him fight on multiple occasions and there was no way she could deny that he was strong. From what she had observed of his fighting style, Shampoo was certain that he was not be grounded in any single martial art, especially considering his lifestyle. However, like Ranma, it was the diversity and voracity with which he incorporated other styles into his own that made him strong. And that exposure to different martial arts was exactly what she needed.

Shampoo knew he was powerful enough to teach her. Her dilemma was figuring out how to ask him for training. Oh, maybe he knew what happened at the Nekohanten! She had found her excuse to talk to him.

"Lost boy!" she yelled to get his attention, sauntering over to where he sat.

The wanderer looked up from patching a hole in his yellow shirt and he adjusted the checkered bandanna that held the hair out of his eyes. "Shampoo. What do you want?"

She walked to the edge of his camp and crouched down to his height to face him directly. "That how lost boy talk to pretty girls?"

"That's how I talk to amazons who usually want nothing to do with me."

Seeing that he wasn't in the mood to be humored, she got right to the point. "Ryoga, do you know what happen at Nekohanten?"

At the question he genuinely looked confused. That expression fit his face well, she thought. "It's your restaurant, shouldn't you know?"

She shrugged. "Great-grandmother sent Shampoo and stupid Mousse to Juuban. We came back and restaurant like that already."

"Oh." He looked back at the garment he was mending and continued to sew. "I heard that there was some kind of fight between Cologne and Happosai. He ended up in the hospital."

Shampoo grinned in a self-satisfied way. "I knew great-grandmother win fight."

"She blinded him, you know. Deliberately."

"What?" she asked, not really sure if she heard him correctly.

"Happosai is blind now. Cologne clawed his eyes out. He's gone crazy I hear; more than he was anyway."

"Old pervert probably deserve it." Shampoo said the words, but in truth she was a bit disturbed by the news. Her great-grandmother was a prodigal martial artist in her day, just as Happosai was, but one thing she had never been was cruel. She knew for a fact that Cologne had taken lives before, in a different place and time. But there had always been honor and a mutual respect in her actions, and to mockingly cripple her opponent was something she could never imagine her great-grandmother doing.

"I'm sure he does deserve it." Ryoga said off-handedly. "But no one knows what really happened in the first place. He won't tell anyone, and Happosai attacks pretty much anyone that tries to come into his room now."

"You visit Happosai?"

"Hell no! Why would I visit that freak? Not that I could find the hospital in the first place… I heard everything from Akane."

"Why you not there now?"

"It's not really the same there anymore. Mr. Tendo has gotten… intense since Nabiki left. I stayed for some tea but that was it. Besides, I only went to fight with Ranma but he was out doing something."

Shampoo found her opening when he mentioned Ranma, and eyed the lost boy like a cat would her prey.

"So you no fight with Ranma? Maybe he left because he know you no challenge anymore."

Ryoga immediately snapped to attention and glared at Shampoo with his fangs bared through gritted teeth. "What was that?"

This time Shampoo stood to look down on him and put her hands on her hips, tossing him a cocky smile that she knew Ranma liked to mock him with. "You heard me lost boy. Ranma too good for you to be interesting fight. Shampoo bet even stupid spatula girl could kick your butt."

Tossing aside the shirt in his hands, Ryoga stood to full height. Shampoo never realized that was so much taller than her. "Take that back Shampoo. Ranma is _not_ that much better than me. I could beat him if I wanted!"

She cocked her hips and blew him a raspberry. She was starting to have fun teasing him; it was so easy. No wonder Ranma did it all the time. "Then why you no challenge him for Akane? Maybe is too lost to find courage."

Shampoo saw the look of fury starting to build on Ryoga's face. She knew she was being a bit cruel to him, especially knowing he didn't deserve all the ridicule she was throwing in his face. Just a little bit more and he'd be ready; she needed him to be angry enough to be honest.

"You just scared and weak but too stubborn to realize. Maybe lost boy more like little pig than he think."

She felt his ki instinctively start to rise although he showed no outward sign of attacking. Shampoo knew that Ryoga was someone who let himself get swept up in his emotions rather than containing them, and his ki tended to reflect that state more accurately than his body language.

"Shut up Shampoo." He growled, quieter and more menacingly than she had ever heard him.

"Did I hit bull's eye, pig-boy? Maybe that why Akane like Ranma better. He handsome and strong and brave and no get lost inside bathroom."

A slight, almost undetectable gust of wind emanated outward from Ryoga. If it weren't for the blades of grass that bent forward and the falling leaves that got swept away, Shampoo almost would have missed it. Extending her own ki awareness, Shampoo could feel more than see that Ryoga was trying his best to contain his own emotionally charged life force. On the surface his ki seemed controlled, but there was a chaotic energy that boiled just beneath the surface.

And the violet-haired amazon delivered her coupe de grace.

"And Ranma not so pathetic he have to sneak into girl's bed as pet. P-chan."

The moment the words left her mouth, Shampoo knew she had crossed a line with him. Almost anyone who knew anything about Ryoga Hibiki knew that he always got lost, hated Ranma Saotome, and was in love with Akane Tendo. Making a mockery of his three greatest insecurities was a quick way to get on Ryoga's bad side, and that's exactly what Shampoo did.

Ryoga exploded forward, closing the distance between them in the blink of an eye, but that was the moment Shampoo was waiting for. She ducked under the wild swing that Ryoga threw during his initial charge. Although he was incredibly angry, to Shampoo it was immediately obvious from his first strike that the lost boy had no real intention of hurting her. Too badly at least.

Stupid Japanese men and their honor.

Shampoo managed to slam two quick blows under Ryoga's ribs as he moved passed her, and she jumped into a spinning kick aimed for his head as he turned. He threw up his left right arm to block it and Shampoo's foot felt like it made contact with a telephone pole. Still in midair, Shampoo grabbed his blocking arm and threw both of her legs around his bicep, grasping his wrist with both of her hands and maneuvering him into a flying arm bar.

Ryoga threw himself into a forward roll before Shampoo managed to dislocate his elbow. Planting his free hand on the ground, he pushed himself upward into the air and breaking out of Shampoo's joint lock. Flipping at the apex of his inverted jump, the lost boy fell with a vicious axe kick aimed at his opponent's collar bone. Shampoo saw it coming and rolled to the left, watching Ryoga's kick dig a large furrow in the ground.

He didn't hesitate for a moment and continued the offensive. Ryoga threw a quick one-two which Shampoo evaded easily, following it up with a trio of kicks that could easily demolish stone and concrete. She managed to dodge the first two kicks with some difficulty, but she was forced to cross her arms in front of her and block the third kick in his combination, pushing her back several feet.

Shampoo let out a pained grunt as she absorbed Ryoga's strike, gritting her teeth against the pain. Her guard almost dropped from the force of the blow, but her pride wouldn't allow her to show weakness to any opponent. She had always known that Ryoga was one of the strongest people in Nerima in terms of brute force, but she had never actually dueled with the lost boy when he was serious. At first, before she provoked him into a fight, the amazon thought that it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. Shampoo was starting to believe that she may have been wrong, and her arms were paying the price. There was no way her body would be able to take more than a few clean blows from Ryoga. She had to stay on the offensive.

Taking a deep breath, Shampoo concentrated. A bright blue battle aura sprang to life around her, becoming visible to the naked eye. All around her body she was sheathed in an ethereal blue glow extending just a few inches outward. She could practically hear the air around her humming and vibrating with the power of her ki. The pain in her arms from Ryoga's kick was all but gone, and she could feel an immense strength and vitality filling her muscles. She knew she was faster than the lost boy, and it was time to play to her strengths. She charged.

Ryoga took a step back into a hasty defensive stance and prepared for the coming assault. Shampoo dashed forward and threw herself into a forward handspring, and then a second handspring to close the distance quickly. Again she jumped and flattened her palms to the ground, feinting and making Ryoga believe she was going for another handspring. Instead, she pivoted on one of her planted hands and threw both of her legs into powerful kicks that connected with Ryoga's leg. Any other man would have been toppled by the attack, but the lost boy merely stumbled back. Although Shampoo was surprised at how well he took the kicks, it was still gave her the opening she needed.

Regaining her balance quickly, she simultaneously struck Ryoga's chin and solar plexus with her closed fists and rocking his head back. Not stopping there, she threw a flurry of punches into the lost boy's unguarded stomach and followed up with dual hammer fists on his collar bones to drive him downward. Ryoga's knees buckled, and as he fell, Shampoo's knee rose to connect viciously with his jaw, lifting his body back up. Presented with a clear shot to his face, Shampoo stepped forward and landed a hard open palm strike directly to Ryoga's nose, throwing him violently backward.

She stood her ground and allowed herself a quick breather, confident that Hibiki was at least rattled by her assault. Shampoo watched as Ryoga slowly got back to his feet and grinned when she noticed the thin stream of blood trickling down his nose. The lost boy gingerly touched his nose and frowned when he saw blood on his finger tips.

This time, Ryoga took an orthodox boxing stance and began circling around Shampoo, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. He closed the distance with a series of quicksteps and Shampoo barely had time to bob her head back to avoid a lightning fast jab. She backpedaled as fast as she could, but Ryoga refused to let her gain distance and kept her off balance with a series of precise lefts.

After desperately evading his first few punches, Shampoo managed to regain her composure and dodged his strikes a little easier. She realized her initial assessment of Ryoga's fighting abilities had been more accurate than she thought. While she was still faster than him, it wasn't by as much as she hoped, and the wanderer completely outclassed her in brute strength and stamina. The series of blows she landed on him earlier would have obliterated most others; the combination was designed to incapacitate an opponent with two shattered clavicles, a broken jaw and nose, and a severely tenderized abdomen. Ryoga got back up from having taken the full force of the combination, and just looked like he was upset at having a slightly bloody nose. Nonetheless, Shampoo didn't let her confidence waver for an instant. She still had a few tricks up her sleeve that the lost boy wouldn't be expecting.

Until she felt her the back of her heel touch the edge of the concrete wall that lined the vacant lot.

When Ryoga saw her eyes widen slightly in surprise, he took the opportunity to strike. He had managed to maneuver her into position with his deceptively fast left jabs, and when she was backed up against the edge of the wall, he struck out with a devastating right cross. It was a textbook punch, from his base and up through his core, he channeled the kinetic energy into a single powerful strike.

Shampoo felt a shallow cut open on her left cheek from the air pressure as the punch grazed her face. She quickly tucked into a sideways roll as a spider web of cracks formed in the wall behind her centered around Ryoga's fist, buried wrist-deep in the concrete. When Shampoo recovered from the roll she immediately got to her feet and faced the lost boy.

Shampoo never saw it coming. If it weren't for her highly trained reflexes she would have taken the full force of the blow. Instinct kicked in and she managed to turn away from Ryoga's spinning hook kick, absorbing it with her shoulder instead of having it cave in her chest. But even then, that didn't stop her from getting blasted through the concrete wall and rolling into the middle of the street. She felt herself stop rolling and moved to get up, trying to fight off the blackness that was creeping around her vision. When she planted her hand on the ground to push herself up, an intense pain shot up Shampoo's left arm and shoulder and she had to stifle a scream. Fighting the pain to regain focus, she was glad for whatever meager protection her aura granted her. She doubted her arm would still be attached to the socket otherwise.

She didn't know how long she was on her knees in the middle of the road, gasping in short breaths. She felt Ryoga's hands encircle her waist and lifted her onto her feet. Draping her good arm over his shoulder, they limped together toward Ryoga's tent. They both knew that there was no reason to continue the fight.

"Why were you provoking me?" He asked quietly. Shampoo could still hear the resentment in his voice. "You've never done that before."

"I want fight you. Your defense sucks lost boy." Shampoo managed to spit out, equally bitter. She had lost so decisively, and after he landed only a single blow. She was sure her great-grandmother would not be pleased if she ever found out.

"That's it? I would have sparred with you if you asked."

"I don't want spar. I want fight you seriously, like you fight with Ranma."

"So you started insulting everything about me?"

With a gentleness that surprised her, Ryoga laid Shampoo down against the tree next to his tent and began rummaging through his backpack. He pulled out a roll of bandages and some ointment and started to patch up Shampoo's injured shoulder.

"It's just some bruising." He said after looking at Shampoo's shoulder. "It should heal soon."

Shampoo nodded in thanks. "Don't tell me you no notice why Ranma insult you so much. It fastest way to get you to fight seriously."

"But why would you want to fight me in the first place? You don't hate me do you?"

Shampoo giggled a bit. "I no hate you. I just need to know if you strong enough to train me."

Ryoga paused in his ministrations and goggled at the girl. "Train you? I didn't know Amazons ask for favors with insults. Why the hell would I train you after you come here picking a fight?"

She locked gazes with him and spoke as honestly as she could in her broken Japanese. "Because I not strong enough."

"What do you mean?"

"Great-grandmother go back to China and leave Shampoo and Mousse here alone. She say in letter that I going to be tested."

"Tested? What, like a multiple choice test?"

She bonked him lightly on the head. "No silly. Amazons test only in combat. Airen would never train me. I hear you train Akane to fight against fake sisters (1*) and she became much stronger. You must be good teacher. Great-grandmother say you also learn Bakusai Tenketsu very quickly."

She hoped that complimenting him would sway him, at least a little bit. But then she put on the most miserable expression she could think of. A little empathy with the lost boy could go a long way.

"But great-grandmother gone. I _lost_ and no know what to do. She leave me in Japan alone with Mousse, and I know I is too weak to pass her test. You of all know what that feel like."

As she expected, Ryoga twitched at her words. If anyone knew what it was like to be lost and alone, it was him. "What would I get out of training you? I don't think Mousse would be too happy about that."

"No need to worry about Mousse. I need to be stronger before great-grandmother comes back to test me. I no can disappoint her again. Ryoga I… no can ask anyone else for help." Shampoo put on her best pouty face and looked up innocently at the lost boy, hoping his reputation as a doormat for pretty girls held true to form. She could practically see the gears turning in his head.

"Look, I'll train you, but you have to do something for me."

"Hmm?"

Ryoga scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "You have to take me to my house. It's been too long since I've been back home, and I need to check on my dog and her puppies."

A broad smile bloomed on Shampoo's face and she pulled him into a one armed hug. "Yay! Thanks Ryoga! You big help, and I tell great-grandmother you train me when I kick test's butt."

Ryoga did his best to wiggle out of the girl's hug and scooted away slightly, a blush barely visible on his cheeks. Shampoo giggled again. She actually found his shyness a bit charming, reminiscent of the demure younger males of her village.

"So how we start training?" She asked.

If there was anything that Ryoga was confident about, it was martial arts. Unlike the odd, socially awkward boy she was used to dealing with, this time Ryoga spoke with an authority she didn't know he possessed. "You have great speed Shampoo. Slower than Ranma, but definitely faster than me and you have a good amount of power to boot. That one combination you nailed me with was excellent and I would have been seriously hurting if it wasn't for the Bakusai Tenketsu training. You are definitely skilled, but sometimes that just isn't enough. You managed to block my kick, but I could see that it hurt. You definitely need some toughening up. And there's one other major area we need to work on."

Shampoo sat and listened intently, paying attention to all of the details. It wasn't often she got an honest critique about her martial arts skills, especially from someone as skilled as Ryoga.

"Your ki."

"What about it?"

"You can summon your battle aura which is a good start. It gives you a physical boost in strength and speed, and it protects you from attacks. But my guess is you've hit a bit of a plateau with your martial arts."

Shampoo nodded enthusiastically. "I train every day, but Shampoo no get stronger. It like… jogging. I stay in shape but I no seem to get better."

"That's because you need to train your ki specifically."

"You mean to use ki blast like you and airen?"

"Well, sort of. Just summoning a battle aura is simply the first step in developing your abilities. There are a lot of different ways to use ki. The Bakusai Tenketsu for example, is just one application of it. The technique would be impossible to learn for anyone who didn't already know how to summon their battle aura. Any black belt martial artist could go through the training, but never learn the technique unless they figured out how to tap into their ki."

To Shampoo, Ryoga started sounding like a professor giving a lecture to a class, but as long as it helped her learn then she would listen. Ryoga reached behind his head and pulled off a single yellow and black bandanna, am identical bandanna already tied underneath it. She had seen him use the technique before, but no matter how many times she saw it, Shampoo had never been able to figure out how he did that. Maybe Mousse knew.

"Now watch." He said. With a quick flick of his wrist, the cloth snapped straight and stiff. He tossed it up into the air and caught it, the bandanna never losing its rigidity. "This is called the Iron Cloth technique, and it's one of the first uses of ki I ever learned. I think I might have seen Kodachi use a similar technique, but I don't ever want to get close enough to her to ask about it."

He handed the bandanna to Shampoo and she turned it over in her hand. It was as solid as steel, and felt just as heavy. She gently ran a prodding finger across the blade and marveled at its razor sharpness.

"This is the most basic use of the technique." He explained. "There are masters of the Iron Cloth technique that can do some pretty amazing things. And it all starts with channeling a tiny sliver of ki into the cloth. Your ki is there Shampoo, but it's unfocused. What you need to do is learn to channel and use it, and once you learn to do that you'll grow much more as a martial artist."

There was a gleam of excitement in Shampoo that filled her with anxious energy. Back in Joketsuzoku, she was the best of her generation. And yet when she came to Japan and met the martial artists in Nerima, she came to realize that for all of the honor and glory she earned in her village, she had a long way to go as a warrior. It was her pride that let her believe otherwise. Pride in herself… and her great-grandmother.

"So, when we start?"

* * *

"That's good. Now let the ki flow along with your movements, in sync with the expansion and contraction of your muscles. You should be able to feel the force it adds to your strikes."

Ryoga and Shampoo moved as one through the basic kata that Ryoga had taught her. The kata was one of the first he had learned. It was both slow and simple enough that a competent martial artist could still go through the motions while focusing on the body and flow of ki, rather than the movements themselves. When they finished, they faced each other and bowed.

"My ki feel different, I think. More control and power." Shampoo said excitedly, wiping her brow with a small towel.

Ryoga went through some quick stretches and picked up his red combat umbrella. "That's great! You've made excellent progress in just a few days. Now that we've warmed up, let's move on to some weapon forms."

The vacant lot had been transformed over the last few days and actually began resembling a basic outdoor dojo. There was a small rack of weapons that Shampoo had found stored in Cologne's room that she decided to bring to the training area. Around the lot was also a heavy punching bag hanging from a tree, and a tall wooden striking post wrapped in straw. Shampoo walked over to the weapon rack and began mulling over which weapon she wanted to train with. If the lost boy was as good with weapons as he was without them, then she had to take it seriously. Ryoga and his umbrella became somewhat infamous in Nerima after his first confrontation with Ranma at Furinkan.

Contrary to what she had initially believed, Ryoga actually was an excellent teacher. After doing a few simple exercises and one more sparring session that didn't involve insulting him, he had been able to correctly gauge exactly what she needed to work on. In fact, now that she was taking her training seriously again with someone experienced as a guide, she had noticed a distinct increase in her strength and stamina. Another thing she noticed training with the lost boy was that even though her style was aggressive, having to dodge Ryoga's blows was improving her defense by leaps and bounds.

Looking at the umbrella in Ryoga's hands, Shampoo decided to wield her most familiar weapon: the dual chui (2*). She would need a weapon that could actually withstand the weight of Ryoga's deceptively innocent looking weapon. Plus with two weapons, she could attack from multiple angles simultaneously. Against Ryoga Hibiki she would take all the advantages she could get, even if she had to be sneaky about it.

"Okay, I ready."

With that, they faced each other and took stances. Ryoga held his umbrella pointed like a rapier only exposing one side of his body. Shampoo held her left chui outward pointed at the lost boy, the right chui held above and behind her head.

"Now let's start slow Shampoo. I want you to do the same thing as we did in the kata. Don't worry so much about your movements, but the energy that gives you power. Begin."

Metal rang on metal as Shampoo's heavy metal hammers made contact with Ryoga's bamboo umbrella. To the average passerby, the two martial artists were a whirlwind of violence. Ryoga bounced around lightly on his feet, easily parrying with his umbrella or moving around the strikes of Shampoo's heavier (looking) weapons. To the casual observer, they were fighting a deadly duel that would end only with the other broken and defeated.

To the two martial artists, they were dancing. As they transitioned from one move to another, from attack to defense, each movement was slow and deliberate in its execution.

"Good Shampoo." Ryoga encouraged, sidestepping a thrust and blocking an overhead swing with his umbrella. "Your weapons are an extension of your body and when you feel it, your ki will follow suit."

Shampoo ducked under a swing from Ryoga and he leaned his head back to avoid her counter. "What you mean ki follow suit?"

Ryoga closed the distance again and began adding kicks to his attack patterns. "What I mean is that ki can also be channeled through your weapon. Even subconsciously, weapon specialists do this. Kuno is a good example."

"Stick boy?"

"Yes. Even though he doesn't know how to summon his battle aura, he has accepted his weapon as a part of his body and instinctively channels his ki through it. That's why he can cut through concrete with just a wooden sword."

Using her chui as pole vault, Shampoo flew above her opponent's head and brought her other hammer down to crush Ryoga's skull. He managed to roll forward just before the weapon made contact and grinned at her tricky attack. They engaged each other again and the furious exchange of blows sent a rapport of metallic clangs echoing down the streets around them.

A few more series of attacking and defending and the two broke contact to stand a few yards away from each other. Shampoo looked at the large steel hammers in her hands. She had expected her arms to be aching and heavy after fighting for so long, but she was surprised to find that the weapons actually seemed to be lighter in her hands than when she had first picked them up off the rack. Maybe Ryoga's training was paying off even in ways she didn't expect.

Focus returned to her when she saw Ryoga charging again. She prepared to throw one of her chui in a move that Ryoga wouldn't expect. At least she would have, when she saw a wave of throwing knives impact the ground where Ryoga would have been had he not rolled to avoid it.

"So it is true." Said a voice from atop the large tree in the vacant lot.

Shampoo recognized the voice instantly. "Mousse."

Ryoga turned to look at the person who had just interrupted them. The Chinese man was dressed as they had always seen him: in his red sash tied around a long white robe, with blue kung fu pants underneath. This time, the blind boy was actually wearing his coke-bottle glasses.

"What the hell Mousse?" Ryoga yelled at the man.

"It was just as I feared." Mousse growled angrily, still standing on top of the tree. "Yet another man challenges my beloved Shampoo for her hand. I will not allow this!"

With that, he jumped toward the lost boy. His white robe billowed in the wind and he held his large sleeves forward. A dozen chains and an assortment of throwing knives flew at the wanderer, who simply opened his umbrella and crouched underneath it. Instead of piercing the flimsy paper of the umbrella, the metal weapons bounced off of the solid red surface. Mousse reached into his robe again and pulled out a wickedly curved scimitar and charged. Ryoga recovered quickly and prepared to engage the amazon male.

Mousse swung over and over again with the deadly sword, but his target always seemed to be just out of reach of his weapon. "Stand still and let me kill you!"

Shampoo just slapped her own forehead in frustration and crossed her arms. She had managed to hide her secret training from Mousse for the last few days, if only to get away from his nosiness. It was only a matter of time before he found out, and of course, come to the wrong conclusion. At least her training alone with Ryoga (and away from Mousse) was fun while it lasted.

Ryoga was starting to get frustrated. "Stop it you idiot! It's not like that! I'm not interested in Shampoo!"

"Hey!" Shampoo yelled reflexively. Immediately, she slapped her hand over her mouth. She knew that Ryoga was interested only in Akane, but she still couldn't help but be a little insulted that he would deny it so quickly. She really hoped Mousse didn't hear her yell to reinforce his own ridiculous conclusion.

Mousse took a solid kick to the chest and bounced backward, dropping his scimitar. He reached into his sleeves and pulled out a pair of sharp looking katars. "First Saotome and now you! I will defeat-"

Mousse never finished his sentence as a single chui to the back of his head drove him face first into the dirt.

"Stupid Mousse." Shampoo sighed.

A few minutes later found the three of them sitting around a small camp fire next to Ryoga's tent and drinking freshly brewed tea. Mousse touched the back of his head gingerly and winced at what he felt. There would definitely be a bump for a while.

"So let me get this straight. You-" He said, pointing at Shampoo. "Asked him-" pointing at Ryoga. "For training before Cologne comes back to test you?"

Shampoo nodded and Ryoga just sipped his tea contentedly.

"Why didn't you ask me Shampoo? I'd be more than happy to train with you." Mousse pouted a little.

"Because you style too too strange. Plus, you remember last time we train together? You took off glasses and attack old man with training potty."

"That was just one time! I paid him back for the cabbages I destroyed. And you Hibiki, why'd you say yes? I didn't think you were the type to help out with this sort of thing."

The lost boy shrugged. "She asked… nicely. Plus she promised to take me to my house."

"You don't know where your house is?"

"I do! I just can't seem to find it." Ryoga crossed his arms, a frown forming on his face.

A silence fell over the trio as they all sipped their tea and stared at the lightly crackling fire. The sun was slowly starting to set in the distance that cast an orange-red glow on the lot. A moment later, Mousse spoke up.

"I want to train too."

Both of them looked up at the blind duck. "Excuse me?" Ryoga said.

"I want to train with you too."

Shampoo and Ryoga both spoke up at the same time. "No!" "Why?"

Mousse looked at the lost boy to answer his question. "Because you're the one out of all of us that's even come close to defeating Ranma on even terms. With my master still in China, I have no one to train with."

"And you want stay here with me." Shampoo glared at him.

"No! Well, yes, but I really do want to start training seriously again. I'm… still not good enough to beat Ranma."

Shampoo and Mousse turned to look at Ryoga. In the end, it was up to him. After taking a long sip of his tea, Ryoga looked up at them.

"Mousse, you can train with us."

"Yes!"

"Wait-!"

"But!" Ryoga interrupted loudly. "The moment we begin training, we train. No more rivalries, fiancées, or begging for dates. Mousse, that means you. Remember that we're here for the art, and everything else stays out of it."

"But Mousse is-"

Ryoga interrupted Shampoo again. "-A good martial artist, and he practices a completely different style. If you really want to pass Cologne's test then you need to be prepared for anything, and I'm sure he could show us a few things about weaponry."

Shampoo huffed. "Fine."

"I don't beg for dates." Mousse grumbled under his breath, but nodded.

"Alright then. We begin tomorrow."

* * *

From underneath their umbrellas, Ryoga, Mousse, and Shampoo stared at the now muddy field that they were supposed to be training in. The rain was pouring down heavily and all three of the Jusenkyo cursed huddled closely, as far away from the edge of their umbrellas as they could get.

"So what we do now?"

Ryoga eyed the water dripping off his umbrella warily. "Could we go back to the Nekohanten?"

"No unfortunately." Mousse shook his head sadly. "There's still that huge hole in the floor, and the only place to train there is in the back yard."

"What about the Tendo Dojo?"

"I don't know, I'm not sure if Mr. Tendo would let us use it for free."

"Where's the harm in asking?"

Ryoga looked at Mousse incredulously. "Ranma and Akane live there."

"Good point."

This time it was Shampoo who looked at both of them seriously. "We need place to train. And remember what you say lost boy? This about the art, no distraction. No Akane, no Ranma. Agree?"

Ryoga and Mousse looked at each other once, then nodded.

"Okay, we'll at least go ask. Who knows, they might be out."

With that, the three animal-cursed teens began the treacherously wet journey to the Tendo Dojo.

After the third time Ryoga suddenly swerved and almost walked into a random store or alleyway, Shampoo took his hand and began leading him. At first Mousse had objected quite adamantly, but when Shampoo threatened to make the two boys hold hands instead, there was a unanimous agreement that Shampoo should be the one to take the lead.

Surprisingly to all three martial artists, not one of them managed to get splashed by the time they were standing in front of the gates to the Tendo compound. The only odd thing they noticed was a black van parked outside, but paid it no mind. Mousse knocked on the door.

With no answer after a minute, he knocked again. No answer.

Then they heard an explosion come from the direction of the dojo. Sharing a quick glance with each other was all they needed. The three martial artists crouched low then jumped high, landing on the edge of the outer wall. Shampoo felt her jaw drop. Looking at her companions, she could see that Ryoga's eyes were narrowed and he gritted his jaw. She couldn't see behind Mousse's glasses, but his mouth was agape.

There was a massive hole in the front entrance of the dojo where the doors would have been, as well as a few smaller holes around the main house itself. From their vantage point on the roof they could see the white gi of Genma Saotome in the dojo and he was laying face down, unmoving on the floor.

Quickly the three jumped down and ran to the dojo. When they stepped through the threshold they could see that a big battle had just taken place. There were large gashes in the wooden floor and walls of the dojo as well as blackened scorch marks all around. On the far side of the dojo, they saw the slumped form of Soun Tendo against the wall, apparently unconscious.

"What happened here?" They heard Mousse say. Not one of them had an answer for him.

Shampoo gasped. "Airen!" Both boys followed her as she dashed out of the dojo and into the main house.

The first thing they noticed as they ran inside was that almost nothing had been disturbed. None of the furniture seemed out of place and there were no shattered panes of glass or splinters of wood. The only thing they heard was the high pitched whistling sound of a tea kettle on the stove. As they stepped into the kitchen, it looked like somebody had left in the middle of cooking. There was a chopping board on the kitchen counter with vegetables that were only half diced, and it looked like the tea kettle had only just recently been left unattended.

Spotting the stairs, Ryoga dashed for it confident that he wouldn't get lost at that distance. "Akane! Akane can you hear me!"

The two amazons followed behind him, and almost slammed into his back when he came to a dead stop in front of Akane's open door.

There was female Ranma, bloody, bruised, and struggling to hold on to consciousness. She was being held up in the air by the neck with a single hand. The owner of that hand was a figure dressed in all black with a hood that obscured the assailant's features. The only thing that they could tell was that the attacker was a female from her slender body type.

Then they saw the still forms of Akane and Kasumi lying on the floor of Akane's room.

Ryoga roared like a beast and charged into the room. Before he got three steps inside, the black cloaked figure one-handedly tossed Ranma in his direction, and he was knocked back trying to catch the redheaded girl.

As Ryoga fell backward, Mousse had a clear line of sight. He let fly with four chains with sharp spearheads attached to the front. The black figure simply snatched the four chains out of the air before they hit her, two in each hand. Before Mousse had a chance to pull back on the chains, the attacker tugged on the chains violently and pulled Mousse forward. He tried to resist but was pulled entirely off his feet and was sent crashing through the wall and breaking apart the doorframe. When she pulled him into striking range, the figure struck his face and torso several times, faster than Shampoo's eyes could count. Mousse coughed up blood before falling over, clutching his chest in pain.

Ryoga pushed the unconscious Ranma off of him and charged again. The figure merely sidestepped the lost boy's furious charge and delivered a spinning kick to his back. To Shampoo it looked like a light kick that Ryoga would probably never feel. To her surprise the kick, adding to the force of Ryoga's charge, sent him barreling straight through the back wall and out into the pouring rain. She saw his clothes all of a sudden collapse on itself and fall down to the garden outside.

Looking at the unconscious forms of Ranma, Mousse, Akane, and Kasumi, Shampoo knew that she was stuck in a corner. But she was an amazon, and there was no way that she would retreat. Shampoo crouched low and dashed forward, sliding in as low as she can and then jumping with a ferocious uppercut. Shockingly, the figure merely grabbed Shampoo's fist with an open hand and twisted.

Shampoo was forced to turn to avoid dislocating any of her joints, and she found herself pushed up roughly against the wall of the room. She felt two shots to her kidneys, then a sharp pain somewhere behind her neck. Shampoo slumped to the ground limply, unable to feel her arms or legs. She could only watch numbly as the figure threw the unconscious bodies of Akane and Kasumi over her shoulders, and step on to the edge of the hole that Ryoga made.

The figure turned to look at her once, before jumping off and out of sight.

There was only one detail about the assailant that Shampoo committed to memory before falling blissfully unconscious: the green silk choker the figure wore around her neck.

* * *

**The Present**

**Outside Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture**

"I remember hating myself after that." Shampoo said, her voice thick with melancholy. "That was the weakest I've ever felt in my life. I couldn't believe how quickly we had all been taken out."

"I remember it." I said sadly. "That was the day everything changed for good."

Shampoo nodded from the seat across from me. "Seeing you and Akane like that… we didn't know if you were dead or alive at the time. Ryoga was furious when he came to."

"I suppose he would be. Ranma too."

I could see the concern on Shampoo's face as she looked at me. I must have been wearing a pretty terrible expression to make Shampoo worry. Clearing my throat and shaking off all the negative feelings that came with that particular memory, I took a deep breath and centered my emotions just like my master taught me.

The red light on the intercom speaker came on, and Takezo's voice blared from it. "Miss Tendo, Lady Shampoo, we're here. The bunker is right below us. I'm taking us in for a landing."

Both Shampoo and I looked out of the helicopter window. Below us was a mostly empty field, save for the crumbled stone control rooms that lead down to the bunker. From our vantage point we could see the large blast doors that led to the main entrance, and it looked like it had been caved in with explosives.

A smirk found its way onto Shampoo's face. "Well, looks like the lost boy's handiwork."

"I suppose so." I said, rather numbly.

"You know Kasumi," the amazon began with some hesitation. "I'm sure you know a lot about what happened to me, since it's not exactly private. But… what happened to you and Akane right after you were kidnapped? That's always been kind of a mystery to me."

I considered telling the girl to just leave it alone, but after all we've been through together, I owed her an explanation at least. As we stepped out of the helicopter, I let out a sigh of relief once we planted our feet on solid ground and approached the bunker. I turned on my flashlight to push away the darkness as we stepped through the gaping hole in the blast doors.

I took a deep breath and prepared to tell my tale.

"They took us to China."

**End Chapter 4**

* * *

A/N

For those of you that have been asking me where [Character] is, don't worry. Although it may be kind of slow getting around to introductions, every character in the main cast has an important part to play. I hope you're willing to bear with the pace until then.

To the people who have taken the time to review this story, I thank you ;) While I'd like to say I have an infinite supply of inspiration and enthusiasm (but really, who does?) the reviews really help me get an idea of what you guys want to see come out of this story. Already in the few reviews I've gotten, I found myself thinking of new ways to use the cast in the parts that haven't been written yet. Plus, creative criticism on both the characterizations and the writing itself is highly appreciated. Hope you enjoy, and keep em coming!

(1*): "Fake sisters" Natsume and Kurumi Tendo - They are characters from the anime-only two episode OAV "The One to Carry On". Thinking Soun was their father, they take over as heirs to the Tendo Dojo and Ranma/Akane train to win it back. Ryoga takes over Akane's training during this time (and in the vacant lot no less). I really like these two characters, but I'm not sure if they're going to be seriously involved with the story or not.

(2*): Chui - These are Shampoo's most common weapons in the manga and they look like beach balls on sticks. I believe that they were somehow mistranslated as "bonbori" in the manga and its use is pretty common in a fair amount of fanfics.


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